Junior Justice League: Teen Division!
by Very-Bored-Anon
Summary: With Batman in outer space most of the time, the Bat Kids left to fight Gotham's criminals by themselves. Batgirl and Robin complain about this. So, Batman discusses this with the League, and what was their idea? Bring the sidekicks together to form a team! (Feat. Kid Flash and Speedy!)
1. Complaints

**Junior Justice League  
><strong>**Teen Division!**

A month after the Justice League had defeated the Joining, Batman started working alongside more often with the League. He returns to protect Gotham less and less. Batgirl and Robin were there to take over, though. At first it was fun, but then it got more stressful.

Gotham's criminals _feared_ the Batman, but even less Batgirl and Robin. When they learnt that Batman won't be at Gotham often, they took advantage and caused more crime than usual.

Batgirl and Robin normally hunt down robbers and burglars when Batman was busy, sometimes supervillains like the Joker and Harlequin or the Penguin.

Now that _sometimes_ became _all the time_. It didn't help that some nights Barbara couldn't patrol with Dick because she was in college and had work, leaving him all alone to fight by himself.

They hadn't gotten hurt badly, _yet._

So, one night when Batman came back from outer space, the two Bat Kids voiced their concerns (They were more like _complaints_, though).

"Bruce, you _can't _keep leaving Gotham like _this_!" Dick said.

"The bad guys are _taking advantage_! They keep multiplying," Barbara said. "This night, we had to fight Killer Croc and Bane."

"And look what happened!" Dick cried. He lifted up the top part of his costume and revealed a large purplish bruise on the left side of his stomach. "Bane _punched_ me here, I was _lucky _that I hadn't got internal bleeding or something!"

"Same here!" Barbara said as she rolled up the right leg of her costume up to her thigh. There were bandages wrapped around her thigh. "Killer Croc tried to cut me into _three_! The good thing was that the cuts were _shallow_!"

The Bat Kids were about to show off more recent injuries when Bruce raised a hand for silence. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Barbara, Dick, I'm sorry," he said. "I know things are getting harder and harder for you but you have to brave through them-"

"Bruce, if we keep going like this we'll _die_," Barbara cut in.

Bruce sighed again. "I know, _I_ _know_," he said exasperatedly. "Don't _worry_, I'll discuss this with the League. We'll figure something out."

"You better figure it out _quick_," Dick said, his tone slight whiny. "'Cuz I doubt I can fight properly with _this_." He gestures at the bruise on his abdomen again.

"Me too," Barbara agreed. She winced and held her wounded thigh. "I've been having trouble walking on the way back."

"Yes, yes," Bruce assured them. "I promise."

With that, Dick and Barbara went to change back to their civilian clothes. Bruce watched as his two sidekicks left. He sighed heavily. He recalled the words he'd said to them during the Joining's first invasion on Earth.

"_I've been relying on you two too much."_

"_It was never about not wanting you, it was about losing you."_

Bruce felt like a hypocrite. He'd told them, himself, and Alfred that the two Bat Kids mean so much to him, like his own children, which earned their name 'the Bat Family'. But there he was, leaving them by himself, getting hurt badly, while he was elsewhere, unaware of their troubles and pain.

Then, Batgirl's words at the Justice League HQ in outer space rang in his mind.

"_Junior Justice League: Teen Division!"_

She'd obviously meant it as a joke, but he was sure that he wasn't the only superhero with sidekicks. His idea was put into place. He made plans to meet the League during the weekend. Although it'd be faster if he'd chosen the next day, he didn't want to leave the Bat Kids by themselves, especially not while they were still hurt.

He sent a message to the other Justice League members: **"Meeting at the HQ this coming weekend. Bring your sidekicks if you have any."**

Now, he's going to send Barbara home. She obviously won't be going anywhere fast with that hurt leg. After that, he'll tuck Dick into bed.

Just like a dad of any family of sorts would.

**Chapter 1 *END***


	2. Sidekicks

**Junior Justice League  
><strong>**Teen Division!**

At the end of the week, Gotham's crime rate dropped down again. The Bat Kids have healed and were functioning properly again. They'd just return to the Bat Cave. The Bat Kids were happy that Batman wasn't going to leave them now.

"I'll be having a meeting with the League tomorrow," Batman announced.

"What?!" the Bat Kids gasped simultaneously.

"The League and I will be discussing about your… _problem_," Batman explained.

"And we'll be left with the criminals," Robin groaned.

"_Again_," Batgirl added.

"Don't worry," Batman said. "You'll be following."

The Bat Kids were silent with surprise. Batman just smiled and walked away.

* * *

><p>Fortunately for Barbara, she had no important assignments to take care of. So, she gets to follow Batman and Robin to the Justice League's HQ. They went by Batman's rocket of course.<p>

The Bat Kids had only been at the HQ once. They were excited that they were going back again.

When they had entered the HQ's base and away from the space's vacuum, they excitedly hopped out of the rocket, eager to meet the League again.

Flash was the first to greet them, as always.

"Hey, partner!" he said cheerily. He turned to the Bat Kids. "Great to see you kiddies too!"

"Hi, Flash!" Robin greeted.

"Who's the cutie?" a younger voice asked.

There was a flash of yellow. It moved past Robin, and then around Batgirl, making rounds around her.

"Kid Flash, stop checking out Batgirl," Flash ordered sternly.

"Aye, aye!" said the voice again.

The yellow blur stopped and was replaced by a young boy. He was taller than Batgirl and seemed about a few years older than Robin. He looked like a smaller version of the Flash, his costume yellow and red rather than red and yellow like the Flash. The top of his cowl was opened, showing off his red hair. They could see his green eyes.

He held a hand out to Batgirl. "I'm Kid Flash."

Batgirl took it warily. "Hi, I'm Batgirl."

He blurred for a second and reappeared beside Robin.

"And _you _are?" he asked.

"I'm Robin," Robin replied. "You're the Flash's sidekick?"

"Just began this week," Kid Flash said.

"Are there other sidekicks?" Batgirl asked as they made the crew made their way into the HQ.

"There's one more, but don't call him a sidekick," Kid Flash said. "He wants to be called a partner."

Batman and Flash led the kids to a room.

"You wait here while we have our meeting," Batman ordered.

"What? We're gonna have any part in this?" Robin asked.

"No," Batman replied.

With that, the two mentors left the kids. The kids entered the designated room. It was quite plain, with white walls, some couches, a few small desks, and a soda machine. Someone else was already there.

He had red hair too. He wore a domino mask like Robin. His costume was like a red version of the Green Arrow but sleeveless. He wore red fingerless gloves, a yellow utility belt and dark red boots. There was a quiver of arrows beside him and a red bow. There was a 'S' on the right side of his costume.

He was fiddling with an arrow when the others arrived.

"Hey, I'm Speedy," he said, raising a hand. "I assume you already know Kid Flash, and I suppose you're Batgirl and Robin, the Batman's partners."

"Yeah, pretty much," Robin said. They walked over to the other couches and took seats.

"I hope I'm not the _only _girl here," Batgirl said.

"Seeing as they've started their meeting," Robin said, "you are."

"Seriously?" Batgirl sighed.

"Hey, you're not the only one who's different," Robin said. "I mean, I'm the only one with black hair. You all have red hair."

"Yeah, I'm different from you guys too," Kid Flash said. "I'm the only with powers here. Oh wait, that's a good thing."

"I'm different because I've got no problems," Speedy said.

The kids laughed.

Batgirl picked at her cowl slightly. "Y'know, since we're all superheroes, I don't think we need to keep our masks on here. I mean, our mentors probably have seen their real faces."

"Good point," Kid Flash said. "It's not like some bad guy could be watching us or something."

"Don't say that!" Robin said. "You'll jinx us."

"Well, I don't mind taking off my mask for you two," Speedy said, gesturing at the Bat Kids. "Not sure about _him _though." He nodded at Kid Flash.

"What?!" Kid Flash gasped. "I'm _totally _trustable! Really!"

"_Really_?" Speedy asked. "Green Arrow told me that you'd nearly let slip Flash's secret identity once."

"That was _once_," Kid Flash protested.

"He said that you practically yelled out loud _'Uncle Barry, you're the Flash?!'_ out to the neighbourhood," Speedy said.

"The Flash's name is Barry?" Robin asked.

"The Flash is Kid Flash's uncle?" Batgirl asked.

"Yep," Kid Flash said proudly.

"The Green Arrow's my foster father," Speedy said.

"Same here," Robin said. "The Batman's my foster dad."

They boys looked at Batgirl.

"Uh… I'm not related to Batman in any way," Batgirl said. "I don't live with him either."

"Not all wards have to live with their partners," Speedy said.

"Uh… No. It's because I'm not orphaned or anything," Batgirl replied. "I live with my dad and well… He doesn't know that I'm Batgirl."

"Do you… plan on telling him one day?" Kid Flash asked.

"Maybe…" Batgirl said, a bit sadly.

There was a bit of an awkward silence. Robin clapped his hands together, catching their attention.

"Hey, we haven't got to talking about our secret identities, didn't we?" he said.

"Right, we haven't," Kid Flash agreed.

"Who wants to start first?" Robin asked.

"Let's start alphabetically," Speedy suggested. "Batgirl, you first."

"Um… Okay," Batgirl said. "But shouldn't we take of our masks?"

The others agreed. So, they simultaneously pulled off their masks. Kid Flash revealed red freckles over his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. Robin showed that he had brown eyes and thin eyebrows. Batgirl showed off more of her cherry red hair and maroon eyes. Speedy peeled of his mask and revealed plain blue eyes.

"Alright!" Kid Flash said. "Story time!"

Batgirl laughed and began her story. She told them her real name, about her friendship with Pamela Isley ("As in, like, Poison Ivy?!" Kid Flash gawped), how she made her own costume and tried to become Batman's sidekick, and saved her dad.

"Eventually, he let me join," she said. "Gave me my own grappling hook, ice, smoke, and bomb pellets, some batarangs and even a gas mask."

She turned to Kid Flash. "You're next."

Kid Flash said his name was Wally West, that he'd found out the Flash ("Uncle Barry Allen," he said) was his uncle and pleaded for him to let him be his sidekick, only to have his request denied.

"One day, I found his notes on how he'd got himself super-speed and I did it myself," Wally said. "It kinda exploded in my face and I landed in the hospital for some time. But I still got my powers and Uncle Barry _finally _let me join."

Robin talked about himself next.

"I'm sure the whole world knows about the 'Flying Graysons'," he said. "After what happened to my parents, Bruce took me in. I found out he was the Batman. I became his sidekick after I helped him take down Tony Zucco."

Finally, it was Speedy's turn. He started with saying his name is Roy Harper and was raised and trained with the bow by Brave Bow and that his real dad, a forest ranger, was killed in a forest fire. After Brave Bow died, Green Arrow found him and took him in as his ward.

"I became his partner, but people like to call me his sidekick," he said bitterly.

"Isn't that the same thing?" Barbara asked.

"No," Roy replied sharply. "Being called a sidekick is like… being called a tag-along. It's degrading."

"Ah, I see what you mean," Dick said. "Well, I'd like to be called Batman's partner too…"

"But Gotham hardly even notices us for _some reason_," Barbara grumbled.

"Yeah, I mean, they always crop us out of photos in the news," Dick said.

"They never do that to me," Kid Flash said. Then, he stroked his hair. "Maybe it's because of my looks," he said flamboyantly.

"Flamboyant idiot," Speedy muttered.

The Bat Kids laughed.

Outside, Batman, Green Arrow, and Flash were eavesdropping on their wards. Superman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern and Hawkman stood nearby.

"_Well_?" Hawkman asked impatiently.

"They seemed to be getting along well," Batman said.

"I can't believe it," Green Arrow said. "Roy's laughing. He hardly ever even cracks a grin."

"Maybe it's 'cuz of you," Flash said.

"So, are you going to group them together to form this 'Junior Justice League'?" Superman asked.

"Of course," Batman replied. "Robin and Batgirl can't handle the criminals all by themselves."

"So your plan is to leave a _group _of children to fight the criminals in Gotham?" Martian Manhunter asked.

Batman shrugged. "You could say that."

And thus, it was settled. Junior Justice League's Teen Division was made.

**Chapter 2 *END***


	3. Arrival

**Junior Justice League  
><strong>**Teen Division!**

"So, it is settled," Batman said.

The League had joined their wards in the room. The wards crammed into one sofa while their mentors sat around them. Those who have no partners or sidekicks stood behind and listened.

Batman continued, "Speedy and Kid Flash will be staying at Gotham while I am not around to help you fight crime."

"How long will we be staying at Gotham?" Speedy asked.

"About a month, two at most," Batman replied.

"Thank _God_, it's the summer hols," Kid Flash said.

"You will be staying at the Wayne Manor," Green Arrow said, "as Dick Grayson's relatives."

Robin raised a hand. "Uh… I have _no_ relatives."

"_Bruce Wayne_'s relatives," Green Arrow corrected.

"Bruce hasn't got any relatives either," Robin said.

Green Arrow pinched the bridge of his nose. "What do you _intend_ to call yourselves then? If not relatives?"

"_Friends_, maybe?" Kid Flash said. "Who's gonna ask anyway?"

"It's a precaution, if anybody asks," Batman said.

"We'll just say that we're friends crashing at the Manor during summer," Speedy said.

"Can I crash at Babs's place?" Kid Flash piped up.

Batgirl lightly slapped Kid Flash on his shoulder. "Don't call me that."

Batman answered Kid Flash's question, "No."

Kid Flash pouts. Robin leaned over and whispered, "Her dad's a cop, so don't even try."

"Okay!" Flash said. "Now that we've got all this hoo-hah settled, time to go home! I promised my wife that I'd come back early for dinner tonight."

"And I've gotta pack for my two month sleepover at the Wayne Manor," Kid Flash said.

Everyone agreed to that. The Bat Kids said goodbye to the League and their other wards as Batman led them to his Bat Rocket.

* * *

><p>At the Gordon Residence, Barbara was finishing some summer college assignments. She was about type the last letter for her last essay when her phone rang. She picked it up. It was Dick.<p>

"This is Domino's Pizza, what would you like?" she greeted.

"_Well, I'd like your ear with some of your red hair,"_ Dick replied. _"They're here!"_

Barbara looked away from her work. "Really?"

"_Yep! I'm having a sleepover with two sidekicks of the most famous superheroes!"_ Dick said excitedly.

Roy yelled from a distance, _"I'm not a sidekick! I'm a partner you dang bird!"_

Then, there was a sound of someone blowing a raspberry, obviously Dick since the sound is so clear.

"_So, are you coming over?"_ Dick asked.

"Can't, got work to do," Barbara replied. "But I'll see you guys tonight."

Wally asked, _"Dude! Can I talk to her?"_ His voice was soft and distant.

Dick sighed. _"Hey, Wally wants to talk to you."_

"Tell him he's got five minutes. I've got some work to finish," Barbara replied.

"_Hello~,"_ Wally greeted.

"Hi, Wally," Barbara greeted back.

"_Heard that you're doing homework. Need help?"_ he asked.

Barbara giggled. "I'd rather ask Roy."

There was a distant sound of laughter from the other side.

"You're five minutes is up, Wally. Bye-bye!" Barbara hung up without waiting for a reply from Wally.

Now, back to work.

* * *

><p>"Can I have my phone back, Wally?" Dick asked.<p>

Wally did not reply. He just took out his phone and started to punch in some numbers. Obviously Barbara's.

Dick frowned. "I'll just wait then."

The boys were in the Manor's living room. Roy was looking around, inspecting statues and portraits. Alfred was busy preparing snacks for them.

"Can have my phone back _now_?" Dick asked again impatiently.

"Okay, _okay_," Wally said. He threw Dick's phone back to him.

Roy was now inspecting a grandfather clock in the hallway.

"Where's you lair?" Roy asked.

Dick smiled. "You'll be given a tour of it when Babs arrives."

"You get to call her 'Babs'?" Wally asked.

"No, actually," Dick replied. "But she's not around, so it's okay."

"So, where do we sleep?" Roy asked. He still had his bag around him.

Dick puts a hand to his chin. "Hm…," he said thoughtfully. "You have a few guest rooms, but my room's quite big too."

"What's the point of having a sleepover when you sleep in separate rooms?" Wally said. "We'll crash in your room!"

"_We_?" Roy asked. "I never said I was gonna sleep with you two."

"But it's a sleepover," Wally said.

"To _you_," Roy emphasised. "Not _me_. I'm just here to help Robin and Batgirl deal with Gotham's criminals while Batman's out of town. And I want my privacy too."

He turned around and left to choose his own room. Wally and Dick watched as he left.

"What a _stiff_," Wally muttered. "Doesn't this guy know how to have _fun_?"

"Maybe he's just worried that we'd put his hand into a warm bowl of water or pull some sort of prank," Dick replied.

"Maybe, maybe…" Wally said.

Then, Alfred appeared with a bowl of chocolate chip cookies.

"COOKIES!" Wally cried happily. He dashed over and started stuffing his face.

"Hey!" Dick said. "Save some for me!"

"And me too," Roy added. He has just returned from unpacking his clothes. "Don't be a selfish slob."

Wally swallowed his tenth cookie. "Fine," he grunted. He took the bowl from Alfred and offered it to Dick and Roy. "I left you some."

Roy, being the taller one, looked in. "There's only six!" he said.

"I'm sorry, who's the one with a fast metabolism here?" Wally asked.

Roy took two only. "You can have the rest, Dick."

"But that's not fair," Dick protested.

"I don't want to eat too much sugary stuff," Roy replied.

"And _you _complain that I left too little," Wally muttered under his breath.

"Shut up," Roy snapped.

**Chapter 3 *END***


	4. Patrolling

**Junior Justice League  
><strong>**Teen Division!**

Finally, it was night time. With her father working at the office, Barbara donned her Batgirl costume and set out for the night. Kid Flash was waiting outside.

"Kid Flash? Why're you here?" she asked.

"Rob wanted to give us a tour of the Bat Cave and he wants you to be there too," he explained. "And I am your transporter."

Kid Flash gave a slight bow. "Just hold on tight."

Batgirl laughed and wrapped her arms around Kid Flash's neck. When he was sure that she was holding on tightly, Kid Flash started running until they reached the Bat Cave. Robin and Speedy were waiting there for them.

After letting Batgirl down, he bowed again and held out a hand.

"I have to tip you, don't I?" Batgirl asked.

Kid Flash nodded and grinned. Batgirl laughed again and took out… a lollipop. She placed it in Kid Flash's hand.

He looked at it curiously, as if he was wondering what it was. Then, he unwrapped it and stuck it in his mouth.

"Right! Now that everybody's here," Robin said. "Let's begin the tour."

The Bat Kids introduced Speedy and Kid Flash to the Bat Computer first.

"Every bit of info we have on the bad guys go in here," Robin said. "Batman's always on it after a mission."

"With Batman going to outer space most of the time," Batgirl said. "I do all the computing and filing. It's very boring."

Then, they moved on the Batmobile. Batman does not use it much since he's in outer space.

"We also have our own bikes," Robin said.

"And our own jetpacks," Batgirl added.

"Don't forget a hoverboard!" Robin added gleefully too.

Speedy slides his hand against the Batmobile smooth exterior. "Green Arrow's got a bike that I'd ride with him," he said. "It'd be pretty sweet to ride in something like this."

"HAH!" Kid Flash said. "I don't need a bike or a car, I just run alongside Uncle Barry."

"Not everybody has superspeed, Kid Flash," Speedy replied.

They moved on to all the Bat Weapons like batarangs, grappling hooks, staffs, pellets with different uses, and a robotic bat suit.

"Batman used it to fight Joker when he used Bane's venom to power himself up," Batgirl said. She patted its armour slightly. "I got to try once."

Alfred came down through the elevator. He had a bowl of caramel popcorn. Kid Flash darted over to it again. He took off his gloves so that the caramel would not dirty his gloves. He begins scoffing them down.

After finishing a third of it, he passed it to the others.

"There," he said sarcastically, glaring slightly at Speedy. "I'm not being a 'selfish slob'."

* * *

><p>Now, the group are patrolling Gotham. They jumped from building to building; Robin and Batgirl were telling the names of the buildings.<p>

"There's Gotham Bank," Robin said. "Usually gets robbed."

"Over there is the Wayne Enterprise," Batgirl said.

"You should try to avoid going into abandoned warehouses without your weapons. Most gangs stay there," Robin said. "And of course, avoid dark alleyways."

"And finally," Batgirl said excitedly, "Gotham's Police Station!"

They stopped on top of the building. There was a spotlight on the edge of the roof.

"As you can see, that's the Bat Lantern where my dad would flash the Bat Signal to call for Batman," Batgirl said.

"Sometime, one of us would hide in the shadows at the back," Robin said. "And the commish flashes the signal, we'd come out and scare the wit outta him."

Suddenly, there were the sounds of footsteps walking up the stairs. The commissioner was coming up. The Bat Kids jumped into the shadows, Kid Flash and Speedy followed. Obviously, Speedy and Kid Flash would not blend in with the shadows considering their brightly coloured costumes. So, they had to hide under the Bat Kids' capes.

When Jim arrived, he looked around cautiously before walking over to the lantern. He switches it on and the Bat Signal flashes into the dark sky.

Batgirl looked at the boys and put a finger to her lips. "_Shhh!_" she said softly to them.

She crept out of the shadow. Speedy, who had been hiding under her cape, darted below Robin's.

"_There's not enough space!_" Robin whispered frantically.

"_Find another cape to hide under!_" Kid Flash whispered furiously.

"_The 'other cape' just left!_" Speedy whispered back. "_Gimme some space!_"

Batgirl walked up behind her father.

"Can I help you, Commissioner?" she asked sweetly.

Jim yelped and jumped a foot into the air. Batgirl nearly exploded with laughter.

"B-B-B-Batgirl!" he stuttered, trying to regain composure. "I uh… I don't know you were here."

"Nah! I just came swinging by when I saw the signal," Batgirl replied. "So, what's the problem?"

"Er…" he said, fumbling for words. "I'd like to see Batman."

Batgirl frowned a bit. "He's not here at the moment."

"Oh!" Jim said. "Uh… When can I meet him?"

Batgirl looked away as if she was thinking. "In…about a month…"

"A month?!" Jim gasped.

"Or two," Batgirl added.

"Two-" Jim gasped again but cut himself short.

"You can tell me what the problem is, commish," Batgirl said.

Meanwhile, in the shadows, Robin was struggling to cover Kid Flash and Speedy while straining his ears to listen to Jim and Batgirl's conversation.

"_Did you see how high the commish jumped?_" Kid Flash whispered, barely containing his laughter.

"_Do you always do this to him? He's probably gonna get a heart attack one day,_" Speedy whispered.

"_Would you guys stop moving around?_" Robin whispered uncomfortably. "_Your hair's making me itchy, you guys!_"

Kid Flash smirks and rubs his hair against Robin's abdomen.

"_Cut that out!_" Robin whispered frantically. "_It tickles!_"

"_Stop it, Wally!_" Speedy whisper-scolded. "_You'll blow our cover!_"

Their constant squirming and ever-rising whispers finally caught Jim's attention.

"Uh…" Jim said, realizing that there were more people hiding nearby.

Batgirl face-palmed. "Come out, you guys!" she called.

Robin gratefully took his cape off Speedy and Kid Flash. Kid Flash dashed over and shook hands with Jim.

"Hey there, commish! I'm Kid Flash, the Flash's partner in justice!" he said.

"I'm Speedy, Green Arrow's partner," Speedy greeted from a distance. "It's nice to meet you."

Kid Flash lets go of Jim's hand and dashes over to Robin's side.

Jim adjusted his glasses. "Oh! I see you've put together a… team."

"Yep, yep!" Kid Flash said cheerily. "Batman said that Rob and Batgirl needed a hand in Gotham. So, Speedy and I joined them!"

"Oh… okay," Jim said. He turned to Batgirl. "I'll just wait until Batman returns."

"Wait a minute!" Batgirl said. "Why do need Batman?"

"Yeah!" Robin said. "We're Batman's partners, you could tell us the same too!"

"Unless it's something dirty then I understand," Batgirl said.

Jim just stared at them, gaping. Then, he sighed.

"I… suppose I can tell you," he said with a defeated tone.

The four wards looked up at him eagerly.

"I…" he began. He paused, and tried again. "I just don't think you should be doing this."

"What?" the wards said simultaneously.

"You're all so young!" Jim continued. "I just wish that you all were at home, doing homework, going out with friends, dreaming about boys or girls… The life of a vigilante is _dangerous_! Even if you're just a sidekick."

Speedy scowled and walked up to Jim. He poked a finger at his chest.

"Listen up, commissioner. I. Am a partner," Speedy growled. "_Not_ a sidekick."

Kid Flash grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "Dude, _chill_!"

"I… I'm sorry that I insulted you," Jim replied. "But even so, you all are children-"

"I'm in college!" Batgirl and Speedy said simultaneously. Speedy was lying, though. He's still in high school.

"I'm in high school!" Kid Flash said.

"I'm in middle school," Robin muttered to himself.

"You haven't even got _jobs_ yet!" Jim said.

"Being a _vigilante_ is our job," Kid Flash said.

Jim wanted to say something but stopped himself. He sighed heavily. "Never mind, it's best if I asked your mentors themselves."

He turned around and shut off the lantern. As he walked down the stairway, he said, "Be careful. The criminals are rowdier than usual tonight."

Then, he disappeared.

"Jerk," Speedy muttered under his breath. Batgirl slapped his arm lightly.

The wards then continued their patrolling.

**Chapter 4 *END***


	5. Fighting

**Junior Justice League  
><strong>**Teen Division!**

Patrolling at Gotham could lead to the most bizarre, the most cliché, and/or the most dangerous situations. Batgirl, Robin, Speedy, and Kid Flash had decided to take turns each time they come across an easy crime such as robbers, burglars, snatch-thieves and the like. They went by age: Robin first, then Kid Flash, after that would be Batgirl, and finally Speedy.

Robin had taken down four bank robbers and two muggers. Kid Flash had stopped five snatches and returned the stolen items to their owners without any of them noticing him. Batgirl brought down two TV robbers and four cats from a tree for an old lady. Speedy shot down a gang without getting off the building that the team had been running on or even stopping.

"You're good!" Batgirl complimented.

"You're not so bad yourself, considering you're in high heels," Speedy replied.

Then, they reached Gotham Bank. A man runs out with a sack of cash and a gun. The security guards lay on the ground, still. There was no puddle of blood anywhere, so they assumed that the robber had a tranquilizer gun.

"KF," Robin said, using the nickname they had come up with for Kid Flash because they found saying his full name too long. "It's your turn."

"Piece of cake!" Kid Flash replied. He dashed over to the robber.

"I don't see why you need our help," Speedy said as they watched Kid Flash play with the robber. "I think you guys can handle these people fine by yourselves."

"It'll seem easy for a while," Robin said. "Then after a few hours or a day, the crime rates skyrocket!"

"Batman just left," Batgirl said. "After they find out that Batman's out of Gotham, they'll burst out like evil Jack-in-the-Boxes and attack us!"

"'Evil Jack-in-the-Boxes', huh?" Speedy chuckled.

They watched as Kid Flash finally ties up the robber after making him extremely dizzy. Kid Flash was about to run back up to them when the robber got up.

"KF!" Robin shouted. "The robber's getting up!"

Kid Flash turned around. All their attentions are focused on the robber. He laughed and pressed what seemed like a red button on a square remote. There was high-pitch ringing, and every building around them suddenly opens their windows and doors. Gangster-like men came out and surrounded Kid Flash. Robin, Batgirl and Speedy swung down from the building and stood with Kid Flash, forming a circle to face the men.

Robin took out his staff, Batgirl pulled out two batarangs, and Speedy prepared an arrow on his bow. Kid Flash, being the only with powers, just adopts a fighting stance.

The men were dressed in dark clothes, some were stained white shirts, with ripped jeans, or khakis with stains, with leather vests and black sunglasses. Many of them held carried baseball bats, crowbars, knives, and guns. A few carried nothing, they just bunched up their fists.

A man speaks up, presumably their leader.

"Well, looks like the Bat Brats brought their classmates."

The men laughed. The team growled and glared at the men.

"We were expecting the Batman to show up," the leader said. "I can't believe I brought so many men for _nothing_!"

The men laughed harder.

"Yeah, keep laughing," Speedy said. "Laugh while you can, 'cuz you're gonna be crying back to your mommies when we've dealt with you goons."

The men laughed so much that they couldn't breathe properly.

"That's _so _adorable!" the leader said. After wiping off his tears, he roared, "ATTAAAAAACK!"

The men charged at the team, aiming their weapons at them.

There was a blur of yellow and all their weapons were gone. They looked around confusedly. Kid Flash laughed.

Kid Flash had taken all their weapons and put them elsewhere. He returned to the team as they charged at the unarmed men.

Robin swung his staff at the men's faces. They would yelp and raise their hands. Then, Robin would aim for their legs and knock them over. Besides his staff, he would throw nets and ropes at them.

Batgirl used her acrobatic skills to get past them. She jumped over one man, put his head in a scissors lock, and throw him over at the other man while she lands on the ground gracefully. Similar to Robin, she would throw ropes and nets at the men too.

Kid Flash would run around the men, dizzying them, stealing their belts and pantsing them, and then he would tie them up with their own belts. He would throw superfast punches and kicks to knock them down.

Speedy stood at a distance and shot a variety of trick arrows at them; net arrows, electrical arrows, and goo arrows. If the target is too near, he would punch them.

The team had easily taken down the group of men by half. Seeing as fighting without weapons with them was useless, the men started grabbing random objects like dustbin lids, planks of wood, or their own shoes.

"These men are desperate," Robin said.

"Shoes? Seriously?" Batgirl giggled.

The men charged at them once again, swinging their wooden planks and throwing their dustbin lids like Frisbees. The wooden planks were easily broken and the dustbin lids were redirected back to them.

"And _they_ want to fight Batman," Kid Flash snorted.

"These men are _so _full of hot air!" Speedy said.

But then, someone got hold of a golf club. He swung it at Robin, but it was easily bent by his staff. The man doesn't give up. He moves away from Robin and attacks Batgirl next. She kicked him in the stomach and takes his hand, flipping him like a pancake.

The bent golf club flies in the air over the men's heads. It falls into the possession of the man who had been using his dustbin lid as a shield from Speedy's arrows. He swung it at Speedy, knocking his bow out of his hands. The bow flies into an alleyway, but was still visible.

"My bow!" Speedy cried.

He turned to the man and growled. He roared with rage and knocked the dustbin lid out of his hands and threw a barrage of punches at a speed that Kid Flash would have been ashamed of. Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around Speedy, pulling him back. A man was restraining him. Speedy struggled, kicking around wildly.

"Let him go!" Robin shouted. He pulled out a Robin-styled batarang and threw it at the man restraining Speedy. But another man jumps in the way and blocked it with a dustbin lid.

Robin had turned away from his opponent during the very second he threw his batarang. The man wrenched his staff out of his hands, and hits Robin with it. Robin falls backwards and is caught by another man.

"Robin!" Batgirl cried, breaking away from her opponent to go help him. A man held a metal pipe at her neck, pulling her back and choking her too.

"Oh, crud!" Kid Flash cursed as he realises that they were in trouble.

Numerous men tried to catch him, but he was too fast.

"KF!" Speedy shouted. "My bow! Get my bow!"

The leader punched Speedy in his stomach. Speedy coughed and went limp for a second.

Kid Flash ran to the alleyway where Speedy's bow had been knocked into. It was still there. He grabs it and considers throwing to Speedy, but he remembered that Speedy had been restrained. But then, Batgirl cried angrily. She had grabbed the pipe that the man had held to her neck, and threw the man over her with surprising strength. The man flies and hits the man restraining Speedy.

Speedy was free now. Kid Flash took the chance and darted over to Speedy. He quickly puts the bow into his hands. Speedy quickly notches a trick arrow onto his bow and shoots the man restraining Robin. Electricity fizzes out of the arrow upon contact, shocking the man and releasing Robin.

Robin snatched back his staff and attacks the three men before him. The team was back in action and proceeded to beat up the rest of the men. It took half an hour before they had taken down all the men. By then, the police were arriving.

"Oh, _now_ they arrive!" Robin grumbled.

Batgirl and Robin quickly shot their grappling hooks onto the nearest building. Speedy and Kid Flash held onto them as they went up. They climbed over the edge and lay on the flat roof of the building tiredly, heaving deep breaths and attempting to sit up.

"I… take… back… what I have… said about… how easy it is… to take down the… criminals… in Gotham…" Speedy wheezed, clutching his bruised stomach.

"Glad you… understood…" Robin gasped back.

Finally, they sat up over the edge. They watched as an army of policemen handcuff the men and lead them into police vans. A man was escaping without them noticing. It was their leader.

Speedy took out one of his remaining arrows. It had a rounded tip that looked deflated. Speedy shook it up and down, and the tip inflated into the shape of a boxing glove.

"Sometimes you just want to punch someone who's really far away," Speedy said. He shot the arrow. It hit the leader at the back of the head and knocked him out.

The policemen noticed him and went over to arrest him. The commissioner looked up at where the arrow was shot. He spotted the team sitting there, watching them. The team just smile tiredly. Batgirl waved slightly.

Jim waved back with an appreciative smile. After a few seconds, the team got up and left.

* * *

><p>"STOOOP! It HUUUURTS!"<p>

Alfred sighed as he tended to Dick's cheek wound. There was a large red welt where the man had swung his own staff at him.

"Suck it up and be a man!" Barbara scolded. Then, she coughed and rubbed her neck. There was a red line where the metal pipe had pressed on to.

"I can't believe that even _I_ got bruises," Wally groaned. He rubbed his bruised legs. He had run through several metal pipes and wooden planks while ignoring the pain.

Alfred had wrapped a bandage around Roy's stomach. Roy lay on a metal bed with his head on a small pillow and his bow on his chest, muttering words like "I'll never lose you again" and "No one's gonna knock you out of my hands ever again".

"Roy, stop that," Wally said. "You act like that bow is your baby."

"Shut up," Roy replied.

Eventually, Dick kept still and quiet so that Alfred can properly bandage his wound.

"Thankfully, it was nothing serious," Alfred said. "I do advise that you pay attention to your opponents while you fight."

"We do," Dick protested. "I only turned away because Roy needed help."

"Exactly what I meant," Alfred said. "Mr. Harper had lost his bow and thus, was caught off-guard."

"Did_ not_!" Roy objected. He sat up quickly and ended up regretting it because it made his bruise hurt.

"Please refrain from hurting yourself any further, Mr. Harper," Alfred said calmly. Roy grunted and laid back onto the bed.

Wally looked over at Barbara. "How're you doing?" he asked.

"Neck hurts a lil'," she replied. She took a sip of water. "But I'm sure the red mark'll disappear after some time. It's not really an injury."

"Lucky you!" Dick whined. "Good thing there's no school for three months! If not, everyone would be laughing at me."

"I still can't believe you threw a grown man over you like a sack of potatoes," Roy said, smirking.

"He was a _heavy _sack of potatoes," Barbara replied, smirking too. "My arms are damn sore now."

"May I ask if you will be staying for tonight, Ms. Gordon?" Alfred asked.

"Well, Pop did say that he'd be pulling an all-nighter and will be staying back at the department," Barbara said, contemplating. "Maybe, I will. For tonight only. I'll just text dad and say that I'm staying over at a friend's."

"Oh, yeah!" Wally whooped. "Slumber party!"

"I'll be staying in _another_ room," Barbara said.

"Aw…!" Wally whined.

**Chapter 5*END***


	6. Battlefield

**Junior Justice League  
><strong>**Teen Division!**

"Eat my fist!" Dick cried as he made his character punch Wally's in the face.

The four wards were gathered around a wide flat screen TV. Barbara and Roy watched as Wally and Dick duel in the game.

Wally had ran back to Barbara's home just get her a pair of pyjamas for the night and some civvies for the next morning when she returns home.

"You're quite the gentlemen, aren't you?" Barbara had said.

"Can't have you going home as Batgirl," Wally then replied. "That would attract loads of attention."

It was already 10:30 pm, but Dick and Wally insisted Alfred that it was still early.

"It's not like there's school tomorrow or anything," Dick said.

Alfred refused to prepare snacks, though.

"Eating snacks or meals before sleeping is not healthy," Alfred said.

So, everyone just changed into their PJs; Dick wore a long sleeved pure white pyjama shirt and pyjama pants; Wally wore a half-red, half-yellow long sleeved pyjama shirt and red shorts; Roy wore a sleeveless maroon cotton shirt and black pyjama pants; Barbara wore a short sleeve night gown; and they went down to play video games.

"You will not defeat me!" Wally said. He used his superspeed to press many buttons on the controller at the same time.

"Hey!" Dick said. "That's cheating!"

Wally used so many combos that his character was still beating up Dick's even though he was dead. Eventually, the controller could not endure Wally superfast taps and burst.

"Whoa!" he yelped, throwing down the controller.

A stream of white powder sprays all over the fried controller, Alfred was extinguishing it with the fire extinguisher.

"Wally!" Dick said angrily. "That was a _Christmas present_!"

"Yeah! I spent, like, 200 bucks to get that for him!" Barbara said. "You owe me 50 bucks, Wally!"

"It was an accident!" Wally protested. He dusted the white powder off the fried controller. He pushed a few buttons. They all popped out of the controller.

"Let's play something else," Roy said. "Something that isn't digital."

"Black Jack?" Dick suggested.

"Poker?" Wally suggested.

"Monopoly?" Barbara suggested.

_All of those involve money and gambling…_ Roy thought inside, but he said, "How about 'Snake and Ladders'?"

"LAME!" Dick, Wally, and Barbara said at once.

"At least it doesn't involve money!" Roy snapped.

"I wanna play a fast game!" Wally whined.

"UNO?" Barbara suggested again.

"Haven't got the cards yet," Dick said.

"Truth or Dare?" Barbara tried again.

"That's for girls!" Dick and Wally said.

"SEXIST!" she snapped at them.

"If we can't even decide on anything we might as well go to bed," Roy sighed.

"No way!" Wally replied. "The night is still young!"

The grandfather clock rings. It is 11:00 pm.

"Time is flying away!" Wally said.

"How about 'Battlefield'?" Barbara said.

"What kind of game is that?" Dick asked.

"Kind of like tag, but you can use weapons to tag the others," Barbara explained.

"But it wouldn't be fair since Wally has superspeed!" Dick said.

"But you won't really need to chase him if to catch him," Barbara said.

There was a moment of silence for thinking.

"I'm in, I love tag," Wally said.

"If we can use weapons, then I won't mind joining too," Roy said.

"I'm in if you're all in, then," Dick said.

"Okay," Barbara said, "who wants to count?"

Roy pointed to Wally. "He's the fastest among us. He should be it first."

"Really?" Wally asked. "I can count really fast, y'know."

"Then you should count to… ten million," Dick said.

"No prob," Wally said smugly. "Counting to ten million is like counting to twenty for you."

"What about the 'weapons'?" Roy asked, hooking his fingers as he says 'weapons'.

"We can pillows and cushions and whatnot," Barbara said.

"We should start now," Wally said, pointing at the grandfather clock. "We've just lost ten minutes from our hour."

* * *

><p>Wally leant face forward into a corner and counted to ten million while the others searched for hiding spots.<p>

After twenty seconds, Wally shouted out, "Ten million! Ready or not, here I come!"

He dashed around the Manor, scanning every nook and cranny. He found Dick first. He was hiding in a cabinet.

"Aha!" he said. Dick was about to roll away when Wally smacked him with a pillow.

"You're it!" he said before dashing off.

Dick quickly got up and searched for the others. He grabbed a small cushion with him.

_Barbara would choose dark places to hide at… Can't be the Cave since that's banned… Roy would hide in high places… _Dick thought. Then, the answer to where Roy could be hiding struck him.

_The stairs!_ he thought, triumphant that he had found the answer.

He reached the stairs and grabbed a roll of ribbon with him on the way. When he reached the top, he spotted a shadow running around a corner. Smirking, Dick chased it.

He pulled out a length of ribbon and tied it like a lasso. As he turned around the corner, he spotted the shadow again. He threw his lasso of ribbon and caught the shadow by the elbow. Dick tugged the ribbon and made the shadow fall backwards. As he had thought, it was Roy.

"Tag! You're it!" he said. Using his teeth, Dick bit off a part of the ribbon from the length he had used to make a lasso. He tied a part of it to the stair's banister and swung down to the lower floor and landed on a sofa. He jumped off the sofa and ran.

Roy untied the ribbon from his arm and got up. He tried to find out how he was going to find either Wally or Barbara.

_Wally is too impatient to hide in one spot… Anybody under the wing of the Batman knows to hide in a dark area… A dark area… A cabinet!_

Roy searched the bathrooms, opening up cabinets that are big enough to hide a person. When it was clear no one hid in there, he searched the kitchen. He searched the lower cabinets before checking the top ones. He was about to give up when he noticed that one cabinet seemed to have more items in them than the others. He opened the next one and found Dick.

"What the heck?!" Dick yelped. He was obviously surprised to be found again.

Roy tried to grab him, but Dick moved away and jumped out. He pulled out his ribbon and tried to tie up Roy again. Roy took out the length of ribbon that Dick had used on him and twirled it around Dick's arm. Roy pulled him forward, causing Dick to topple over. Then, Roy sidestepped him and tied up Dick's other arm.

Both of Dick's arms were tied together, leaving him unable to cushion his fall. He lands on his chin painfully. Roy tapped his head with a finger.

"You're it," he whispered. He got up and ran away.

Dick grunted and struggled to get up to kneeling position. After some wriggling, he finally got the ribbon loose and off his arms.

_Where could the others be… _Dick pondered. _If I were Barbara, she'd do the same and hide in a cabinet… Roy won't be hiding at the same spot again… And what about Wally? A different spot every five seconds, I bet…_

Dick knew that normal people would hide in a room, and the place with the most rooms are on the higher floors. A dark place would be… a closet or a store room.

Dick ran upstairs again and searched the few store rooms on the first floor. He has lived in the Wayne Manor for a year and knows it like the back of his hand. The store rooms were dark and dusty and full of cleaning appliances. When he reached the second store room, he kicked away the mop sticks and broomsticks, pushing aside vacuum cleaners and dustpans, until he reached the back of the room.

Suddenly, the door closed behind him. Dick turned around and quickly kicked the door open. He heard a distant cackle and saw a black tarp on the ground.

_Barbara used it to blend in dark! _he thought. He wondered how she had gotten out, but dismissed his question and chased after Barbara. He was able to catch up with her but was still a metre away. He chased him down the stairs and around the sofas. Now, they were on the opposite sides of a sofa.

"Which way are you gonna pick?" Barbara asked, smirking.

Dick knew if he ran left, Barbara would run right, and if he did the opposite, she would too. There was only one way to get her.

Dick jumped over the sofa and reached for her. Barbara tried to run the other way, but Dick had grabbed a pillow and threw it at her. He planted his hands onto the coffee table and pushed himself onto his feet. Barbara threw the pillow back at him, but Dick dodged it easily and ran away laughing.

"You're it~!"

She took the pillow with her as she searched for the other boys. Then, she saw Roy running across the stairs. They made eye contact as Roy reached a corner. Bending her elbow, she stretched her arm back and flung the pillow like a disc at Roy.

Roy would have dodged it if he had taken his hand off the wall, but the pillow hit him before he got the chance to even move it. Barbara saw it touch his hand and knew she had caught him.

"Tag!" she shouted at him. "You're it!"

Roy grunted. He wanted to throw the pillow back at her but held back. He decided to find another target, someone who has not been caught yet.

Wally was still running around.

Roy knew his best chance to catch Wally was if he had something to shoot him with. He has to time it too. He ran into his room and took his bow. He considered grabbing his quiver of arrows, but decided not to. The game may be called 'Battlefield', but that doesn't mean they were really in battle.

Roy grabbed a flower out of its vase. He crept around the halls silently, trying to catch out Wally. Finally, he heard footsteps. They were not normal ones, they sounded like a jackhammer. If he predicts it correctly, Wally will run down the stairs and around the living room. Roy runs into an empty room.

He hears Wally run by. Roy bursts out and runs to the stairs and leans over the banister. Wally had dashed down the stairs and was running in circles around the sofas.

"Hey, Wally!" Roy shouted.

Wally stopped running and looked up. Roy notched the flower onto his bow. Wally thought it was silly that Roy was going to tag him with a flower, but knew that Roy could turn any thin straight object into an arrow if he needed to.

Wally decided to run into the kitchen, just like how Roy predicted. Roy shot the flower as Wally ran. Miraculously, it hit him.

"Bullseye!" Roy cried proudly. "You're it!"

Wally was going to run up and tag Roy again, but the grandfather clock rang. It was midnight, and that meant bedtime.

Wally and Roy groaned unhappily. There were also some distant groans elsewhere.

"Bedtime, children," Alfred chimed.

The wards unhappily went into their rooms.

**Chapter 6 *END***


	7. Suspicions

**Junior Justice League  
><strong>**Teen Division!**

The next morning, Barbara was already prepared to go back home.

"You're not gonna stay for breakfast?" Dick asked.

"No, it's best that I get home now," Barbara replied.

"Why?" Dick asked again.

"Well…" Barbara said. "Kinda because dad thinks I'm at home."

"What?"

"Dad said 'no' about staying the night at the Manor because I told him that I was the only girl."

"Oh, right."

So, she bid the other boys goodbye and left.

"Need a lift?" Wally asked.

"It's broad daylight," Barbara said. "Using your powers in public without your costume isn't the best idea."

"I suppose that's true," Wally sighed.

Barbara took the train back home, making sure to prepare a batarang in case the ceiling lights start flashing again. When she reached her house, she spotted her dad at the front door. She darted to the back and ran up the metal steps and jumped into her bedroom window. Then, she ran to the kitchen and made toast as her father came in.

"Hi, dad," she greeted.

"Mornin', hon," he greeted back.

As Jim went to make his own toast, he started letting out a long rant about last night.

"I can't believe the Batman could leave children to do his job, and now he leaves more. This is dangerous!" he ranted.

"Dad, I'm sure that most of them are out of elementary school," Barbara replied, trying to keep her composure after being called a 'child'.

"And they even had to fight a mob of gangsters!" he went on. "I mean, I'm _impressed_ that they were able to take down that many people but-"

As her father went on, Barbara picked up the newspaper that Jim had brought in. The headlines read:

**MOB OF GANGSTERS TAKEN DOWN BY FOUR TEENAGERS.**

Barbara smirked and read the contents:

_According to a witness in a nearby alley _("Must've been a beggar," Barbara muttered quietly)_, Gotham Bank had been robbed, but the culprit did not go far when he was spun in circles by Kid Flash. It was very surprising to see someone from Central City suddenly appear in a place like Gotham._

_But when he had tied up the robber, a mob of gangsters came out and surrounded him. Kid flash was then backed-up by no other than Batgirl, Robin, and Speedy._

_Speedy came from Star City and worked under the Green Arrow. Why he is here is a mystery too._

_The witness said that the four teenagers were able to subdue the mob but took a terrible beating. There is a suspicion about child labour and abuse—_

"Barb? Barbara? Are you listening to me?"

Barbara looked up from the newspaper. "Sorry, pop. Wasn't paying attention."

Jim took a seat at the table opposite of Barbara. He sighed.

"I know the Batman has his _other_ duties," he said, "but I _really_ don't like the idea of him leaving youngsters to watch over Gotham. Not when they could be doing their homework or playing video games."

"I'm sure the Batman believes in his partners," Barbara replied.

"It's not a question about _believing in them_, Barb," Jim said. "It's the question of whether he cares about their _safety_."

Barbara's thoughts drifted back to the newspapers' words.

_There is a suspicion about child labour and abuse._

"I doubt the Batman wouldn't care," Barbara said. "I bet that's why Kid Flash and Speedy are there."

Jim just looked at her for a moment. He did not say anything else and ate his breakfast. Barbara took her toast and the newspaper with her to her room.

* * *

><p>"Guys!" Wally shouted running around and waving a newspaper in his hand. "Did you read the news?!"<p>

"No, because you grabbed it and ran away before giving us the chance to," Roy replied.

"What's it about?" Dick asked.

"We're on the front page!" Wally said excitedly.

"Seriously?!" Dick gasped. He tackled Wally and reached for the paper. Being the small boy he is, he just hung over Wally's shoulder like koala.

Roy was taller than both of them, so he just stood behind Wally and looked over his shoulder.

True to Wally's words, their fight with the men last night were on the news. There was no photo though.

"There's a witness too!" Wally said.

"'_A witness in a nearby alley'_," Roy read aloud.

"A beggar?" Dick said.

Wally read on. "_'Suspicion about child labour and abuse'_?! Lies!"

"I'm not even a child!" Roy said angrily.

"Lies, lies, lies!" Wally repeated angrily while tearing the newspaper like a shredder. "Uncle Barry does _not _abuse me!"

"Neither does Ollie to me," Roy said, nodding.

"Bruce is an awesome dad," Dick said. "What do they know?!"

"Nothing."

The three boys turned around and saw Alfred.

"These people do not know anything," Alfred continued. "They just write their suspicions and ideas without any proof into these papers in order to get readers."

"Well, that _is _true," Roy said.

"But I am not surprised that they had suspicions about child labour and abuse," Alfred said. "Like you have said, what do they know? Nothing, of course. They write what they see. And that was two—now four, youngsters fighting a mob by themselves without the presence of an adult, to the point where they are bruised and injured. How could they not suspect your mentors?"

Alfred's words swirled around their minds. He was right. They could not call the reporters idiots for writing this. It was not like they knew _who_ they are.

"It still bugs me," Wally said.

"We just have to get used to it," Roy sighed.

"And Gotham needs to get used to seeing kids fighting the baddies here," Dick said.

Alfred just turned and walked away. He wanted to tell them that he himself was not comfortable about the idea of the four wards fighting criminals. He just hopes that they do not face dangerous criminals like Penguin or Joker while the Batman was not around.

Boy, was he wrong.

**Chapter 7 *END***


	8. Ice

**Junior Justice League  
><strong>**Teen Division!**

It was night in Gotham now, the team gathered in the Bat Cave in front of the Bat Computer. Batgirl sat in front of it, tapping its keys.

"We have secret cameras lined up around Gotham," she said. "The computer also intercepts all calls to the GCPD."

"When, they catch something or someone, the Bat Wave goes off," Robin said.

"It's meant to pick out specific types of news and information," Batgirl said.

Suddenly, the screen changed to the shape of a large bat shining the colours yellow, orange and red and emitting a droning beep sound.

"Let's see what this is about…" Batgirl said, tapping a key.

A video of Mr. Freeze comes up. He was shooting snow ("As usual," Robin said) at Gotham's Police Department. Batgirl's eyes widened with shock behind her cowl.

"We have to get there _now_," she said. The boys can tell she was worried about her father.

Speedy dashed off. "Gimme a sec to change!"

"To change?" Kid Flash said, confused. "Change what?"

A minute later, Speedy was back. He was wearing a red sweater over his top.

"We're going after Mr. Freeze right?" he said. "Gotta just according to the weather. You guys should change too."

"No, I'm fine," Robin said.

"I'm cool, no need for sweaters," Kid Flash said.

"Let's just hurry up and go," Batgirl said. She walked over to her bike.

"Hey, wait!" Speedy said. "I don't have a bike!"

"Ride with Robin," Batgirl replied.

"I'll get you a helmet," Robin said.

"I'll just run beside you all," Kid Flash said.

* * *

><p>Mr. Freeze plan was to freeze the whole of Gotham's Police Department to ensure that he would not be stopped, and also to gain the attention of the Batman to freeze <em>him<em> so that _he_ would not stop him. His plan did not involve four teenagers rounding up on him.

"I was expecting the Batman," he told them flatly.

"Well, Bat_girl_ is here," Kid Flash said. "It's close enough."

"Oh, well," Mr. Freeze sighed in his suit. "In that case, I'll just freeze you brats!"

He shot a stream of ice at them. As they dodged, Kid Flash charged at him and jumped onto his ice suit. He kicked at the spiked ice that shielded Mr. Freeze.

Kid Flash yelped and held his foot. "That is _one_ hard ice!"

Mr. Freeze reached over to grab him but Kid Flash was too fast. Distracted by the yellow blur, Speedy shot an exploding arrow at Mr. Freeze's suit. He shot Mr. Freeze's power source. It exploded but did not do much. Mr. Freeze froze him to a wall.

"Shoot!" Speedy cursed. Kid Flash run up to him and used his hand as a drill to break the ice off.

Batgirl shot her grappling hook at Mr. Freeze and pulled herself to him. Just as Mr. Freeze was about to hit her, she planted a small bomb pellet onto Mr. Freeze and jumped off. It exploded and a hole caved into the ice.

Getting the idea, Robin also planted bombs around Mr. Freeze's head when he got close enough. The heat and concussive blasts destroyed the ice. When Kid Flash finally manages to free Speedy, Speedy quickly shot explosive arrows at Mr. Freeze's head.

The ice around Mr. Freeze's head steadily melts. Kid Flash charged again, dodging Mr. Freeze's icy blasts, and kicks the melting ice around Mr. Freeze's head, hard. The ice cracked and breaks.

Seeing as he was losing this fight, Mr. Freeze retreated. The team chased after him, but Mr. Freeze shot an avalanche of snow at them, piling them over, and made an ice wall to stop anyone from following him.

The team kicked and dug their way out of the snow. Everyone except Speedy chattered their teeth.

"Told you so," Speedy said.

Eventually, they got out and melted the ice covering the police department. It took a few more bombs, some pyrotechnic arrows, and a flamethrower that Kid Flash nicked from somewhere for them to finally melt an exit for the people trapped inside.

The commissioner was the first to come out. "Did you see where he went?" he asked.

Kid Flash pointed at the ice wall. "He went that way."

There were the sound of cars and cameras clicking. They were distant, but it was getting louder and clearer.

"We've gotta go," Speedy said.

Batgirl and Robin mounted their bikes, Speedy hopped on behind Robin, and Kid Flash waited for them to begin moving before he starts running.

By the time the press arrived, the team vanished.

* * *

><p>Alfred greeted them with hot chocolate with marshmallows and cookies, which they hastily gobbled down.<p>

"I suggest a warm shower and some bed rest," Alfred said.

"_Man_, I'm _freezing_!" Dick said, rubbing his arms for warmth.

"They say 'cold numbs the pain'," Wally said. He was rubbing the bruises from the previous night's fight. "I can't even feel my legs."

Roy sat further away from the boys. "If you guys are sick, I'm not going near you."

Barbara grabbed her hot chocolate and went over to the Bat Computer. "Neither will I."

Dick walked over to see what Barbara was doing. "Updating Mr. Freeze's file?"

Barbara shook her head. "I'm typing up this night's report. Batman said that I have to type up a report of every night in his place while he's gone."

Dick yawned. "Sounds boring."

"Tell me about it," Barbara said, yawning too. "Hopefully I don't pass out on the keyboard."

She checked her watch: 10:55 pm.

"Okay, dad's got to melt all the ice on the department, assuming that takes about an hour or half of one…" she muttered.

"That means you should start now so that you can return before your dad does," Roy said.

Barbara smirked and began typing. "Let's see… 'Tonight, Robin, KF, Speedy, and I fought Mr. Freeze who was encasing GCPD in ice…'"

"And then we kicked his frozen butt to the Sahara Desert!" Dick said.

Barbara laughed. "'KF fought first and nearly broke his foot when he kicked Mr. Freeze's head.'"

"Hey!" Wally shouted.

"Well, that was true," Roy muttered.

"'Speedy shot a bomb arrow-'"

"_Explosive_ arrow!" Roy corrected.

Barbara deleted the word 'bomb'. "'…explosive arrow at Mr. Freeze and got frozen to a wall. Then, KF left to go free him. Robin and I threw bombs at Mr. Freeze until most of his ice melted. Speedy also helped when he was freed, and KF kicked the ice of his head and made popsicles with them!'"

"What?" Dick asked, looking at the last sentence.

"Popsicles?" Roy repeated the third last word.

"If I made popsicles out of Mr. Freeze, they'd probably taste bad," Wally said.

Barbara deleted the 'and made popsicles with them!' part and rewrote it.

"'…KF kicked the ice of his head. Mr. Freeze turned around and ran like a frozen chicken and avalanched us with snow, and made an ice wall to prevent us from following him. The end!' And save."

"What a _great _report," Dick commented, stifling his laughter.

"Like you could do better," Barbara retorted. Then, she got up and stretched her arms. "Okay! I'm going home now."

"Bye!" Wally and Dick said.

"See you tomorrow night!" Roy said.

"Goodnight, guys," she replied as she took the elevator up. "Don't get sick!"

**Chapter 8 *END***


	9. Refuge

**Junior Justice League  
><strong>**Teen Division!**

It was 9 am in the morning. Barbara was on her bed leaning over a notebook when someone called her. She checked the screen and saw the caller ID. It was Roy.

"This is the Crime Lab. What's your emergency?" she answered.

"_Uh… There are two sick boys in the house and I need refuge,"_ Roy replied.

"You sure you're the only who's not sick?" Barbara asked.

"_I left the Manor the moment Alfred said that Dick and Wally caught a cold,"_ Roy said. _"I'm not sneezing right now. So that means I'm healthy."_

Barbara laughed. "Sure, you can come over. You know where I live, right?"

"_Yeah, I'll just take the train,"_ he said. _"Your dad won't mind if I come over, will he?"_

"He's at work, so its fine," Barbara replied.

"'_Kay then, I'll see you soon,"_ Roy said.

"Later, Roy." Barbara hung up.

She returned to her notebook.

* * *

><p>The doorbell rang. Barbara got off the computer and peeked through the peephole of her front door. Roy was peeking back through the hole. Barbara undid the door chain and opened the door.<p>

"Hi, Roy," she greeted. "How're Dick and Wally?

"Hey," Roy greeted back. "The boys are fine. Just sneezing a lot and spraying snot everywhere."

Barbara shuddered. "EWW!"

As Roy came into the house, Barbara went to lock the door. Roy looked around house; inspecting the furniture; the wall decorations and photos; looking inside the refrigerator. Then, he spotted Barbara's room.

"Has Dick ever come over to your house before?" Roy asked.

"Hm? No, I usually go over to the Manor," Barbara replied.

She opened the door to her room. Roy followed her in and looked around. The walls were covered with purple wallpaper with posters decorating some parts of it. Her bed had a thin purple cloth over it like a canopy with star-like decorations hanging at the edge by threads like wind chimes. There was a desk with a computer beside her bed. She had a closet and her cabinet drawer stood beside it.

Roy walked around her bed and picked up a ratty-looking teddy bear by the pillow. He squeezed it in his hands, making one of its eyes pop out.

"Hey!" Barbara scolded. She snatched the toy out of his hand.

"Sorry," Roy apologised.

He walked over to the computer. There was a newspaper on it. He picked it up and noticed that the page was flipped and folded at Job Applications. A red marker circled around 'part-time librarian's assistant'.

"You're getting a job?" Roy asked.

"Well, I need the points for college," Barbara replied.

"Maybe I should get a part-time job too," Roy muttered to himself.

"Why?" Barbara asked. "It's not like you go to college here."

"Well, there's not much to do at the Manor," Roy said, "other than watching TV, training, playing video games, eating snacks…"

"Yeah, but usually part-time jobs normally involve sitting behind a cashier counter for six hours saying 'Hello, sir' and 'Thank you, sir'," Barbara said. "That's quite boring too."

"Yeah, but I've got to find a way to use my free time," Roy said, dropping onto the swivel chair by the computer.

Barbara put a hand to her chin and thought. "Why don't you help Alfred with the chores," she suggested.

"He won't let me," Roy replied. "He won't even let me make my own bed."

"Maybe…" Barbara said, but then trailed off. She sat on her bed. "Okay, never mind. I'm out of ideas."

"What do _you_ do on your free time?" Roy asked.

Barbara shrugged. "Do homework, read a book, play online games-"

"Doodle?" Roy cut in, flipping through Barbara's notebook.

"Hey!" Barbara said. "Give that back!"

"Wait, wait!" Roy said, smirking. "Let me take a look… Costume ideas?"

"ROY!" she cried.

Barbara jumped off her bed and tackled Roy off the chair.

"Hand it over!" she said, reaching for the notebook.

"Yikes!" he yelped as he held the notebook away from her and tried to wrestle her off.

After a minute of wrestling, Roy had succeeded in pinning Barbara but Barbara had succeeded in retrieving her notebook. Roy was on top of her with Barbara in between his arms with her notebook in her hands. Okay, so Roy _didn't_ really _pin_ Barbara down. He's just on top of her.

"You should learn how to ask for a person's permission before peeking into their stuff," Barbara snapped at him, "unless you're a spy."

"You should learn not to jump-tackle someone for a simple thing like that," Roy retorted, "unless the object is a stolen valuable."

"Just get off me," Barbara said. "The last thing I need is for dad to come in and get the wrong idea."

"I thought your dad was at work?" Roy asked.

"You know how dads have the _worst _timing," Barbara replied. "Even if he's in China he'll still catch me at the worst time. Now, get off."

"Yeah, yeah," Roy grumbled "Don't have to keep telling me."

The both of them sat on the floor, legs crossed and facing each other.

"So," Roy began, trying to start a conversation to pass time, "how is it that your dad _doesn't_ suspect you of being Batgirl?"

"I dunno," Barbara replied. "He just doesn't."

"How could he not?" Roy asked again. "Doesn't it catch his attention that Batgirl happens to have cherry red hair like his own daughter? And that his daughter is best friends with a Dick Grayson? If he's seen Robin before he should be able to recognise his hairstyle when he sees Dick!"

Barbara thought about this. "Well, I _do _wonder about that sometimes. But… I think it's best if he doesn't suspect anything."

"_Or_ he does suspect you guys but doesn't say anything," Roy added.

"Well, there's _that_ option too," Barbara said, shrugging. "But hey, I rather not have dad know and worry about me every night. I mean, that guy has deal with Gotham's crime rates and all. Learning that I'm Batgirl would put him on edge."

"That's true…" Roy sighed. "But he's totally gonna suspect something when he sees you with Dick, Wally and I."

"Well, if just so happens dad finds out," Barbara said, a smiling growing on her face. "You guys _better _back me up."

Roy smirked. "Sure, of course. As long as I'm still in Gotham, though."

"Great," Barbara said. "So, are you gonna stay for lunch?"

* * *

><p>Jim decided to return home for lunch. With Gotham's crimes and all, he had been staying back at the department so much that he hardly gets to spend time with his daughter. He did not expect to see her with another a boy in the house.<p>

"Dad!" Barbara said. "I didn't know you'd come back for lunch."

"Well, I was able to take some time off," he replied. He looked at Roy. "So, uh… You brought a boy over…"

Roy held out a hand for him to shake. "I'm Roy Harper. Nice to meet you, commissioner."

Jim found those words rather familiar and felt wary of Roy, but still shook his hand.

"It's nice to meet you too, Roy," Jim said. "Barb never told me about you before."

"We're a bit distant," Roy replied. "But we know each other well enough."

"He's staying over for the day," Barbara said. "His housemates caught a cold and he needed another place to stay 'til it all clears."

"Oh, I see," Jim said, letting go of Roy's hand. He looked around and noticed that there was food prepared in the kitchen.

"Making lunch?" he asked.

"Yeah, wanna help?" Barbara asked.

Jim saw this as an opportunity to spend more time with Barbara, and to get to know Roy better.

"Of course," he replied.

_That boy… I know him from somewhere… _Jim thought. _And I will find out!_

**Chapter 9 *END***


	10. Eavesdropper

**Junior Justice League  
><strong>**Teen Division!**

Roy was peeling a potato when Jim asked him, "Where do you live, Roy?"

"Somewhere… near the college," Roy replied, "just a simple apartment."

"How long have you known Barbara?" Jim asked.

"Well…" Roy said. At the same time, he glanced at Barbara, as if to say _'Your dad's on to me'_. Barbara looked back for a second, with a look that presumably meant _'Just lie'_.

"I've met Barbara on the first day. We don't talk much, but we have classes and lectures together. Sometimes we talk to each other in the library," Roy said, spitting out as many convincing lies as he could come up with.

"Really?" Jim said, raising an eyebrow. "The both of you don't talk much, but are still good friends?"

"Roy's a good guy, dad," Barbara said. "Unlike some people, he hasn't tried to turn himself into an animal to terrorize other students."

Trying to remember what he had known about the Terrible Trio's antics, Roy added, "I haven't tried to turn anyone _else_ into animals too."

Jim chuckled. "I'll _never_ forget that incident."

Barbara and Roy laughed, but then Roy gave Barbara another look. Barbara presumed that he was asking _'Were we able to throw him off there?'_ She answered his question with a _'Probably'_ look and a slight shrug.

* * *

><p>After lunch, Barbara went back to her room with Roy. Roy locked the door and turned to Barbara.<p>

"Your father seemed _very _suspicious of me," he said.

"Sorry," Barbara replied, "it's just that, dad's been a bit wary of my friends."

"Because of Pamela Isley, right?" Roy said.

"Yeah."

"Does he suspect Dick?" he asked.

"Pop knows Bruce well," Barbara replied, "he was the one who introduced me to Dick, even though we met already."

"Honestly, your dad surveys me as if I'm some sort of rapist," Roy said.

"What did you expect?" Barbara asked, rolling her eyes. "I'd just invited some older dude over to my house without any of my dad's permission or supervision."

"I'm not even dating you," Roy muttered. "And I'm even younger than you."

"I'm not interested in you either," Barbara said, "but you've got to see this from dad's point of view. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if he happened to be eavesdropping on us behind my door at the moment."

* * *

><p>Jim jumped away from the door when Barbara said that he was probably eavesdropping on the two. The door swung open, Roy stood by it.<p>

"Can we help you, commissioner?" Roy asked.

"Dad, don't you have work?" Barbara asked.

"Er… yes, yes, I do," Jim fumbled. He turned away. "I'll be going then. Bye, Barb. Have fun, you two." He closed and locked the door.

"'Have fun', huh?" Roy said, smirking. "If I were another guy-"

"Don't finish that sentence," Barbara said.

**Chapter 10 *END***


	11. Observe

**Junior Justice League  
><strong>**Teen Division!**

In outer space, above planet Earth, Batman was watching Gotham from the Watchtower, or to be specific, the Junior Justice League. He watched them through the secret cameras in Gotham and listened to their conversations. He has yet to read the reports typed by Batgirl. Sometimes, Green Arrow would sit beside him and watch too. Flash would stop by occasionally.

"They seem to be doing well together," Batman said.

"Speedy and Batgirl seem to be bonding well," Green Arrow said, rubbing his goatee. "And Roy _hardly_ ever talks to girls."

"You guys are, like, stalkers," Flash said.

"As if _you're_ not watching your nephew right now," Green Arrow retorted.

Batman opened up Batgirl's report on the team's battle with the group of men.

"Sometimes I wonder if I should've appointed Robin to type the reports," Batman sighed, reading Batgirl's report. "But it takes an entire day for him to just write an essay."

Flash read Batgirl's report out loud with an exaggerated falsetto, "'Tonight was the first time our team– Robin, KF, Speedy, and I –went patrolling. Robin and I gave Speedy and KF a tour around Gotham. Then, we paid pop a visit. Apparently, he wanted to meet Batman. He wanted to tell him that _we_ were 'too young' to be vigilantes and we should be at home doing homework. Could you believe that?!'"

Flash turned to the two other superheroes. "I told Wally that. He didn't listen."

"She wrote this as though it was her _diary_," Green Arrow said.

Flash continued reading aloud in the same voice, "'And then we took out some baddies, but KF encountered a this group of _really_ ugly guys who _also_ wanted to meet Batman. We all kicked their butts to the Moon, anyway.'"

"'To the Moon?'" Green Arrow repeated, bemused. "We would've seen that."

Flash went on. "'Robin got whacked in the face with his own staff ("That sounded painful," Green Arrow said, wincing), I nearly got strangled, and Speedy got his bow thrown down an alley. Luckily, KF retrieved it and gave it back to Speedy after I threw a guy at the dude holding Speedy ("She _threw_ a guy?" Green repeated). After the fight, the cops _finally _arrive. The End!'"

"Just like that?" Green Arrow asked. "She ended it _just like that_?"

"Maybe I should ask Alfred to type up the reports instead," Batman said, sighing again, "or maybe Speedy."

"What's the next report like?" Flash asked.

"I'm not sure if I want to read _that_," Batman said.

"I feel bad for your butler," Green Arrow said. "Speedy may not be a problem, but to take care of Kid Flash… I had him over at my house last week and he emptied a_ third_ of my refrigerator." He shot Flash a sharp glare. "Flash finished off the last two thirds."

"Oh, I'm _sorry_," Flash said sarcastically. "Who has to the fast metabolism here? You or me? That's right, I do."

"I prepared lunch for you two!" Green Arrow shouted.

"And it ain't enough," Flash replied.

"People, _people_!" Superman said, flying in. "Would you _please_ not shout in the Watchtower?"

"Why?" Flash asked. "Someone takin' a nap?"

"No," Superman replied. "Okay, well, Hawkman is. And you don't wanna have him throw his mace at you. I just want you people to try and keep it down."

"Yes, yes," Green Arrow said, waving his hand dismissively. "We were just observing our wards' progress in Gotham."

"Speaking of which," Superman suddenly said. "How _are_ they doing?"

"Fine," Batman replied.

"It's been two days," Superman said. "Are any of them hurt badly?"

"The cameras in the Bat Cave show that they have some minor injuries."

"You sound like a robot, partner," Flash said.

"Deal with it," Batman replied.

"Okay, maybe not anymore," Flash said.

**Chapter 11 *END***


	12. Play

**Junior Justice League  
><strong>**Teen Division!**

At the Wayne Manor, Dick was doing homework. He was sick with a cold and had passed it to Wally. He sat at his desk with a blanket wrapped around him. His assignment was to answer some questions regarding the story in the old novel 'Moby Dick'. He has not even reached the middle of the book.

"Dis stinks!" he cried, his words pronounced strangely because of his blocked nose. "Dis book iz BORING!"

The questions he had to answer were:

1) Who is the narrator of the story?

2) Who did Moby Dick attack?

3) Why did you think that Moby Dick attack the man you chose in (1)?

Dick was able to answer the first two, but had no idea how to answer the last one. He had checked the internet for the answer, it was not written there. He tried reading it, but nearly fell asleep. He thought of asking Alfred, but Alfred has been so busy taking care of him and Wally.

So, he decided to ask the one person he was so sure that should have already read the book and would probably know the answer. He grabbed his phone and called Barbara.

"_This is Sofaland. Would you like our padded couchs?"_

"No, I would like some help with homework," Dick replied. "Have you read 'Moby Dick'?"

"_Yeah, what's the question?"_ Barbara asked.

"Why did Moby Dick attack Ahab?"

There was a pause on the other end. Then, Barbara said, _"Well… You have to come up with your own answer on _that_ one. It's not in the book or in the internet."_

"Have you done a question like dis before?" Dick asked.

"_I'm sure anybody who's gone to Gotham Middle School has done questions like these before."_

"So, you _did_. Can you tell me what _you_ wrote?"

"_Well, I wrote that Moby Dick probably crashed into Ahab's boat by accident and Ahab fell into its mouth and had his leg chewed off unintentionally."_

"… Was that the correct answer?"

"_The question depends on your opinion, Dick. There's no right or wrong."_

"Oh, okay," Dick sighed. "Thanks, anyway."

"_You're welcome," _Barbara replied. _"How's your cold by the way?"_

"My nose is blocked, I sneeze every five minutes, my brain hurts from doing this homework…" Dick droned on.

"_Is it that bad?"_ Barbara laughed from the other end. _"Roy's over at my house. You guys better get well fast, otherwise Roy has to stay the night. And dad's already suspecting him of being a rapist."_

"_Which I am not!"_ Roy's voice can he heard distantly.

"What're you guys doing over there?" Dick asked slyly.

"_Playing chess,"_ Barbara replied.

"That's a nerd's game!" Dick said.

"_Don't you have homework to do?"_ Barbara snapped.

"Okay, okay," Dick said. "Bye, Barbara. Say hi to Roy for me."

"_Bye, Dick," _Barbara replied. _"Get well soon."_

Dick hung up and put away his phone. He looked back at his question. He picked up his mechanical pencil and wrote: 'Moby Dick mistook Captain Ahab's boat for another whale and went over to mate with it but ended up crashing into it. Captain Ahab fell into Moby Dick's mouth and tried to escape but was not quick enough and ended up losing a leg.'

He put his mechanic down. That would do.

* * *

><p>Barbara threw her phone onto her bed and turned back to the chess game before her.<p>

"Whose turn was it again?" she asked.

"It's your turn," Roy replied.

Barbara moved her pawn forward. Roy watched, and then moved a bishop.

"Have you done any 'Moby Dick' questions before?" Barbara asked, moving her rook.

"No," Roy answered. "I was home-schooled. But I've read the book."

"Why do you think Moby Dick attacked Captain Ahab?"

Roy shrugged, pushing his queen ahead. "'Cuz Ahab called him 'Moby Dick'? I mean, anybody would be mad if they were named something like that."

Barbara laughed. "Yeah, that's true. And checkmate."

Roy looked down and saw that Barbara's bishop was aimed at his king, who had both his sides blocked by his own men, and if his king moved in front to avoid Barbara's bishop, her rook would get him.

"Lost again," he muttered.

"Up for another game?" Barbara asked innocently.

"Let's play something else," Roy said.

"Battleship?" Barbara suggested.

"Okay then."

**Chapter 12 *END***


	13. Couple

**Junior Justice League  
><strong>**Teen Division!**

Alfred was busy preparing some warm chicken soup and cool orange juice for Dick and Wally when the phone rang. He stepped away from the stove to go pick it up.

"Wayne Manor."

"_Hey, Alfred."_

"Mr. Harper?" Alfred said. "What is the matter?"

"_Nothing,"_ Roy replied. _"I just want to ask how the boys are?"_

There was a loud sneeze from a room opposite Dick's. Alfred had asked Wally to move to another room because he did not want the two sick boys in one room.

"The colds are quite bad," Alfred replied. "It may take until tomorrow for them to recover. Until then, I suggest you stay at Ms. Gordon's place for the night or at least until Master Richard and Mr. West recovers."

There was a sigh on the other end. _"Okay, then. Thanks, Alfred. I'll see you tomorrow."_

"Goodbye, Mr. Harper. Please greet Ms. Gordon for the boys," Alfred said before he put down the phone.

He went back to the kitchen.

* * *

><p>Roy was sitting on the swivel chair while Barbara was on her bed as they watched CSI: Miami. During an advertisement, he went to call Alfred. Now he was done, so he put his phone away.<p>

"Let me guess," Barbara said. "You have to stay the night, don't you?"

"Yeah," Roy replied. "You wouldn't mind if I slept on the sofa, right?"

"I wouldn't mind," Barbara said, "but you're gonna need dad's permission to stay the night."

"Right, of course," Roy grumbled. "I totally bet he's gonna ask you to lock your door in case I decided to 'drop by'."

Barbara laughed. "Hey, doesn't this mean that only the two of us can go patrolling tonight?"

"Oh, great," Roy said, tilting his head backwards. "I hope we don't become Gotham's 'Power Couple' or something."

"Right, 'cuz the last thing I want is to be seen with a hunky redhead rather than a short twerp with black hair," Barbara snickered. "I hope Catwoman won't be jealous."

"I heard that Catwoman and Batman are in a relationship."

"It's pretty on/off."

"GA's planning to marry."

Barbara's head snapped up wards and turned to face Roy. "Really? Congrats! For him, of course. Who's the lucky lady?"

"The Black Canary," Roy replied. "I'm sure you've heard of her."

Barbara looked away, tapping her chin, thinking. "Oh, right! She has a sonic scream, right?"

"Yeah," Roy said. "I don't know where she uses it the most, when she's fighting, or when she's yelling at Ollie."

"So, what brought them together?"

Barbara has facing him, her chin propped onto her palms. Her elbows were planted on the bad and she lay on her belly. She was ignoring the show before her to listen about Green Arrow's love life.

"I dunno. They just met one night and GA was flirting with her like mad and _ignoring me completely_," Roy said. "Black Canary wasn't amused at all."

"And somehow they're marrying?"

"I guess GA kinda grew onto her."

"How romantic."

"Romance is weird."

Barbara giggled and turned back to the show.

* * *

><p>It was night now. At the Wayne Manor, Dick was trying to convince Alfred that he was well enough to go patrolling.<p>

"No, Master Richard," Alfred said. "You are not well. You should go rest."

"But… But… Who's gonna watch over Gotham then?" Dick asked.

"Why, Mr. Harper and Ms. Gordon, of course," Alfred replied. "Now, back to bed."

Alfred ushered Dick back to his room.

* * *

><p>Above the building of Gotham Bank, Batgirl and Speedy stood there scanning the streets. There was no sign of crime, so they moved on.<p>

Suddenly, there were the sounds of mad laughter. The source of it was from a jewelry shop. The display window was destroyed by a large hammer. Joker jumped out first, gold and silver bangles dangling around his wrists and diamond rings around his fingers. Then, Harlequin came out next with gold and pearl necklaces around her neck and large hammer in her hands.

"That huge hammer reminds me of a game character," Batgirl said. "Amy Rose, was it?"

"I was thinking about Kirby," Speedy said.

Batgirl shot a grappling hook around a lamp post's head. Speedy held onto her as they swung down in front of Joker and Harlequin.

"End of the road!" Batgirl said.

Harlequin jumped forward and swung her hammer at them. They jumped out of the way as the hammer hits the road, causing a slight shockwave and making a shallow crater in the road. Speedy notched an arrow onto his bow and shot it at Harlequin. She deflects it with her hammer. Batgirl shoots her grappling hook again, using it to lasso around the large hammer. She tugged at it, trying to pull it out of Harlequin's grip.

Instead, Harlequin swung her hammer to pull Batgirl towards her. She then threw her at Speedy. Speedy caught Batgirl.

Strangely, Joker just sat on a bench and watched while eating a bag of potato chips.

"Don't you wanna join, dearie?" Harlequin asked.

"Eh," Joker said, waving his hand dismissively. "I was trying to get Batsy's attention, not a bunch of twerps. The Boy Blunder's gotten taller though."

"The hell?!" Speedy shouted. "I am not Robin! I'm Speedy!"

Speedy took out an explosive arrow and shot it Joker. But Joker just took out a box of playing cards and threw on out at the arrow. The card slices into the arrow like a twig, making it explode mid-air, not hitting the Joker at all.

Harlequin lets out a cry of rage. "Get away from him!"

She swung her hammer at Speedy, who dodges it narrowly. Batgirl charged at Harlequin this time. As Harlequin swung her hammer down on Batgirl, Batgirl grabbed the hammer and used like a bar to flip herself over it. Batgirl kicked Harlequin in the face.

Meanwhile, Speedy was trying to engage Joker in a fight. After shooting five arrows and having them all sliced into two easily by Joker's razor-sharp cards, Speedy charged right at Joker, using his bow like a staff. Joker could no longer ignore Speedy, so he got up and pulled out a hammer and blocked the bow. Speedy pulled away and swung at Joker's legs, but was blocked again.

"You're not as fun as the _real_ Robin," Joker said.

Speedy growled. "I. Am. Not. ROBIN!"

He quickly notched an arrow onto his bow and shot it, catching Joker by surprise. The robot exploded at Joker's feet. Green foam coats and spreads onto Joker's legs. Joker pulled his leg, but he was stuck, and the foam kept on spreading until it reached his waist. Speedy shot a net arrow at Joker to restrain his arms.

Speedy turned around to check on Batgirl. She had Harlequin tied up and her giant hammer put far away. Harlequin had a shoeprint on the left side of her cheek. Smirking, Speedy turned back to the Joker.

But Joker was not there. There was only a sliced up net and melted foam, along with distant cackle. Joker has gotten away, again, leaving behind his partner, Harlequin.

"What a jerk," Speedy muttered angrily. "Leaving his partner behind like that."

"It's the second time," Batgirl said. "I actually feel bad for Harlequin."

Together, they carried Harlequin to Arkham Asylum, leaving her with a note taped to her saying _'Put me in jail far, far, away from the Joker!'_

Speedy and Batgirl returned the stolen jewelry back to the shop, only to find that another object has been stolen.

"Does this shop frequently get robbed?" Speedy asked.

"Yeah," Batgirl replied. "This is the twentieth time the glass was destroyed."

The stolen item was a jade cat statuette with diamonds lining it.

"Let me guess," Speedy said. "Catwoman?"

"Obviously."

Suddenly, a cat meowed behind them. They turned around and saw a black Persian cat staring straight at them with its piercing yellow eyes. Then, it turned and walked away with its snout pointed upwards.

"That is _one_ snobby cat," Speedy commented.

"Could be Catwoman's," Batgirl said. "Maybe we should follow it."

So, they did. But it was hard to keep sight of it as it had black fur and could blend into the shadows too well. Finally, it stopped moving.

Hiding in the shadows, Speedy and Batgirl watched as the cat climbed into the arms of Catwoman. She held it up to her face, whispering something that was too soft for the duo to hear. It seemed to be a question as the cat shook its head. Catwoman frowned.

She stood up and suddenly raised her voice. "I know you're there! Come out you brats!"

Batgirl and Speedy came out of the shadows. Catwoman smirked.

"Glad to see that you've chosen an older boy," she said. "Where's the Boy Wonder?"

"Sick with a cold," Batgirl replied. "Where's the statuette?"

"Asking me won't get the answer out," Catwoman replied.

With that, Speedy and Batgirl charged at Catwoman. Batgirl did a jump-kick while Speedy attacked from below. Catwoman jumped over Speedy and bent backwards to avoid Batgirl. She pulled out her whip and reached for Speedy's bow. Speedy held it out of reach and prepared an arrow.

Batgirl landed on her feet and threw a batarang at Catwoman. It slices off a length of her whip. Speedy shot his arrow. Its capsule opened and bolas flew out to tie up Catwoman. Catwoman dodges it and it nearly hits Batgirl.

Catwoman charged at Speedy, preventing him from being able to use his bow. He puts it away and fought with his bare hands instead. He avoided her claws and tried to knock her off her feet. Batgirl joined in and tried to restrain Catwoman's claws.

Catwoman pulled out her slightly-shortened whip and used it to tie up Batgirl's hands. Batgirl instead used her feet. Speedy pulled out another arrow. Its tip was sharp. He shot it at the whip. Catwoman pulled the whip out of the way, but the arrow had sliced a small portion away, which was enough for Batgirl pull away and tear the whip.

Catwoman's whip was now shorter and was quite useless. Realizing that she was fighting a losing battle, she pulled out a stun grenade. Dropping it, the grenade exploded and blinding light engulfed the area. When it dimmed, she was gone.

"Gone again!" Batgirl said.

"Well, this was disappointing," Speedy sighed.

Suddenly, Batgirl's cell phone rang. It was not a call, it was an alarm. And Batgirl was alarmed indeed.

"Dad'll be back soon! We've gotta get back home before he realizes I'm not there!" she said.

The duo turned and ran at full speed back to the Gordon Residence, and managed to take out one more robber on the way. They swung through the back window into Barbara's bedroom just as Jim returned. They hurried to change back to their civvies and hid their costume beneath Barbara's bed.

Barbara came out of the room to greet her father.

"Hey, pop," she said. "How was work?"

"The jewelry shop's display window has been destroyed," Jim replied, "again."

He looked behind Barbara and noticed that Roy was still there.

"You don't mind if Roy stay's the night, right?" Barbara asked.

"Don't worry," Roy said. "I'll sleep on the sofa."

Jim looked at the two of them. He noticed that their clothes were slightly disheveled and Roy's hair happened to be sticking up in an odd way while Barbara did not tie her hair up like normal. He wondered what had the two been doing when he was at work.

"Okay," he said finally.

"Thanks, commissioner," Roy replied.

Jim turned away to make himself a drink as Barbara and Roy went back into Barbara's room.

"Oh, and by the way," Jim suddenly said.

Barbara turned around, looking at him confusedly.

"You might wanna… uh… fix your shirt a bit, Barbara," he said, pointing at Barbara's shirt, the neck seemed to hang rather lowly, showing off her chest slightly.

Barbara blushed and went into her room, closing the door and locking it.

"_That_ was a close call," Roy said, sighing as he dropped back into the swivel chair.

**Chapter 13 *END***


	14. Visit

**Junior Justice League****  
>Teen Division!<strong>

After a day, Dick and Wally finally recovered from their cold. Roy can go back to the Manor already. Barbara followed just to visit them.

"So, how was the night with Barbara?" Dick asked, elbowing Roy playfully.

"We fought the Joker and Harlequin," Roy replied, "but apparently Joker wasn't too interested in fighting us."

"He kept calling Speedy 'Robin'," Barbara said, giggling.

"Just what kind of resemblance do I have to him?!" Roy suddenly yelled. "Stupid, psychopathic clown!"

"You do have the same mask as Robin," Wally pointed out.

"And that's _all_!" Roy said, going into a full-on rant. "I'm taller than him! I use a bow and arrows, not batarang and flying discs! I have red hair, not black! I don't have a cape and my costume is red unlike Robin's ridiculously colourful one-"

"What do you mean 'ridiculous'?!" Dick demanded.

"You could've changed your costume, dyed your hair and change its style, switch weapons, and took steroids," Wally said.

"I do _not_!" Roy replied angrily.

"Hey!" Dick said. "What do you mean by my costume is 'ridiculously colourful'?!"

"You look like a human traffic light," Roy replied.

"What?! I do _not_!" Dick said.

"We also ran into Catwoman," Barbara said, wanting to change the subject.

"What did she steal this time? Some rare species of cats or a cat-themed valuable?" Dick asked.

"Some fancy cat statuette with jewels," Roy replied.

"Of course," Wally said.

"Anyway, I have to go write last night's report," Barbara said. "But I really don't feel like it."

"Then, don't do it," Wally said.

"Unfortunately, that's not an option," Barbara grumbled.

* * *

><p>While Barbara was busy typing up the report, Wally and Dick asked Roy about Barbara's home.<p>

"Well, it looks like any normal apartment," Roy said, "a TV in the living room with a sofa in front of it, a kitchen and dining table near to it, two bedrooms, a bathroom and a storeroom, and some wall decors and photo frames around the place."

"What does her room look like?" Dick asked.

"Purple wallpaper, a bed against the wall placed vertically, a bedside table with a lamp and a photo frame, a desk with a computer, a closet, and uh… a cabinet drawer," Roy said, recalling whatever he could remember.

"What did you do there?" Wally asked.

"Talk, play games, watch TV…" Roy said, ticking off his fingers.

"I envy you, Roy," Dick said, pouting. "I'm practically Barbara's best friend but I've never went over to her place before!"

"Why?" Roy asked.

"I dunno, she always comes over, so it never struck my mind to go over to her place," Dick said, shrugging.

"Why don't we all make plans to go over to her place today?" Wally said excitedly.

"Right," Roy said, rolling his eyes. "Yesterday Barbara Gordon had a boy come over to her house, now she's gonna bring _three_ boys."

"I suppose we should bring a girl or something," Dick said, scratching the back of his head.

"Unfortunately, Barbara happens to be the only girl we know within our 'Junior Justice League'," Roy said.

"Not to mention, the only girl in the Justice League," Wally added.

"You're right," Dick said. "The League needs to get more women."

"Maybe we should put up ads," Wally said.

"What are you gonna put up?" Roy asked. "'We want women to join the Justice League'?"

There was a moment of silence because the boys realized they were just talking about nothing.

"So…" Wally said. "About going over to Barbara's place…"

"What? You guys wanna come over?"

They turned around and saw Barbara standing behind them.

"Well, yeah," Dick said. "But we thought it'd be… weird if you suddenly had three boys come over."

"It wouldn't be weird," Barbara replied, but then made amends, "Okay, maybe dad would find it weird. But he's not planning to come home for lunch today, so it's okay. You guys can come over."

* * *

><p>As usual, they took the train to Barbara's home.<p>

"Welcome to do the Gordon Residence," Barbara said with a fancy tone.

Dick looked around, inspecting the furniture and decoration. "So _this_ is how a normal apartment looks like."

"What?" Wally said, startled by Dick's words. "You don't know how a normal apartment looks like?"

"I spent most of life as a Gypsy," Dick said. "The circus was always moving. But now I've stopped here in Gotham and I'm staying in a mansion. It's not exactly normal."

Roy, who has already visited Barbara's home before, went to get a drink. Wally darted around the house, opening every door he saw. He opened the kitchen cabinets and saw a few bags of chips.

"Ooh!" he said, taking one of them. "Barbecue!"

"Try not to empty the fridge," Roy said, holding a glass of water.

"You're still mad at Uncle Barry, aren't you?"

Dick looked around the TV.

"How many channels do you have?" he asked. "Got any video games?"

"We only have about fifty channels," Barbara said. "I've got a few video games, but my console's bust, so they're useless."

"But Roy said that the both of you were playing games?" Wally said.

"Yeah, _board_ games," Barbara said. "He lost five times in Chess."

"So what?" Roy replied. "I've beaten you three times in Battleship."

Barbara stuck her tongue out. "Three isn't as big as five."

"Oh, yeah? Then, let's play again," Roy said.

Barbara laughed as she left to go get the game.

**Chapter 14 *END***


	15. Phone

**Junior Justice League  
><strong>**Teen Division!**

"Another book?" Barbara asked, raising an eyebrow.

Dick was at Barbara's house again. Lately, he had been going over to her house ever since he visited four days ago. Roy and Wally would follow too. Whenever Dick came, he had a book with him. It changes every day. It was part of his homework assignment; Dick has to read all the books given to him and answer all the questions based on them.

"It's the last one," Dick replied. He showed her the book he had brought over: Little Women.

Barbara rolled her eyes. "Why don't you try reading it instead?"

"I tried," Dick replied. "I conked out after the third page."

Barbara rolled her eyes again, but relented. The two sat at the dining table.

Meanwhile, Wally was darting around the apartment, opening and closing drawers and cabinets, looking under furniture and objects, and sticking his arm into cushions.

"Dang it," he swore to himself. "I was sure it's here!"

"You must've left it somewhere else then," Roy said.

Wally looked up. "It _has_ to be here somewhere! I checked the whole Manor already!"

"Maybe you dropped it while you were running back home," Roy said, shrugging.

Barbara watched quietly. She leant forward and whispered to Dick, "_What are they looking for?_"

Without looking up, Dick replied, "_Wally's lost his phone._"

"_Can't he just get a new one?_" Barbara asked.

"No, I can't just buy a new one!" Wally said, suddenly in between the two. Barbara and Dick yelped and fell off their chairs.

"Why not?" Barbara asked, getting back onto the chair.

Wally holds up one finger. "One, it has all my pictures and videos and I _can't_ let them go." He holds up a second finger. "Two, my _dad_ got it for me. If he finds out I lost it he'll kill me!"

"Just buy a new one," Dick said. "Get one that's the same model. You can take new pictures."

"But it wouldn't be the same!" Wally said. He was holding Dick's collar and shaking him back and forth. "I've been using this phone for five years straight! My dad would obviously notice if he sees that my phone is totally clean!"

"Why are you so worried?" Roy asked. "Wouldn't your dad understand?"

Wally released Dick, who was now dizzy from all the shaking and grabbed Roy by his shoulder.

"You don't know my dad!" Wally said, his eyes flashing with fright. "He's really awful!"

"Awful?" Roy repeated, confused. He pried Wally off his shoulders.

"Your father's abusive?" Barbara asked.

"Well… he doesn't hit me or anything," Wally said. "He just yells at me. A lot."

"He _is_ abusive, then," Barbara said.

"Why does he yell at you?" Dick asked, holding his still-dizzy head.

"Well, he says that I daydream too much and that my dreams will never come true," Wally said, sounding like he was on the verge of tears. "Mom says so too. They say I live in my dreams more than I do in reality and that I'm an idiot for thinking I could be the Flash's sidekick."

Finally, he burst into tears. Roy, who was the nearest, ended up giving his shoulder for Wally to cry on. Barbara got up to get tissues.

"And if they find out I lost my phone they'll start calling me a stupid, lifeless daydreamer again!" Wally said, sobbing even more.

Dick awkwardly came to his side, and patted his shoulder comfortingly.

"There, there. No need to cry."

Barbara came back with a box of tissues and pulled out a few for Wally. Finally, he got off Roy's shoulder which now was soaked with tears and snot. Barbara gave a few to Roy as well.

"Why don't you just try and call your phone," Barbara asked. "Maybe someone will answer it."

"Unless it's in the sewers or something," Roy said. Dick elbowed him.

After blowing his nose on more time, Wally said, "Okay."

They used the payphone on the outside because Barbara refused to let them use her house phone.

"People might try and trace it back to my house," she said.

After putting in a few coins, they dialled Wally's phone number. After three beeps, someone finally answered.

"_Hello?" _said a voice. The voice was slightly muffled by static and was rather unclear, but was somewhat audible.

"Are you speaking with your phone or did you pick this up from somewhere?" Wally asked.

"_As a matter of fact, I _did_ pick up this phone from the road,"_ the voice replied. The speaker was rather polite. _"Does it belong to you?"_

Wally breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, it's mine. I'd _really_ like it back. Can we meet somewhere?"

"_Why, of course! But can we meet at night? I am absolutely _have_ to return to my office this instant. My boss would fire me if I'm late again."_

"Oh, sure," Wally replied. "Is 9 pm okay?"

"_Yup! Well then, I'll be going now. By the way, what's your name? I'm Bob Kane."_

"I'm Wally West," Wally said. "I'll see you tonight then."

"_Bye!"_

Wally sighed again. "Alright!" he said cheerily. "I'm getting my phone back!"

* * *

><p>In a deserted warehouse, Joker was giggling maniacally with his two pet hyenas. He held a red flip-phone in his hand. It had a yellow sticker shaped like a lightning bolt on its casing; like the Flash's symbol. Below it, there was a white sticker with the words printed onto it: 'This is Wally West's phone! If you find it, you better return it to me!'<p>

One of Joker's hyenas found it on the road and brought it back to Joker. A minute afterwards, he received a call from an unknown person. It turned out to be the owner himself, and he wanted it back. After some planning, they decided to meet at 9 at night.

Joker searched through its photos. He found a picture of the owner with three other teenagers. One who he recognised as Dick Grayson, and the other he knew was Barbara Gordon. He had no idea who the third one was until he read the messages that he found out the third teenager was Roy Harper.

It took him less than a minute to find out that Wally was Kid Flash and Roy was Speedy and that they have teamed up with a the Bat Kids to fight crime Gotham while Batman was away.

He saw many pictures. He found one of Barbara who was trying to shield her face, one of Dick who was making a silly face and one more of Roy who was playing with a rubber band. Then, he came across photos of them in costume. He laughed when he saw a picture of Penguin tied up and Batgirl was drawing a moustache below his long beak-like nose.

"I wonder if he'll laugh when he realizes who Bob Kane really is," Joker said to his hyenas. They both laughed.

Joker joined them with his maniacal one.

**Chapter 15 *END"**


	16. Photos

**Junior Justice League  
><strong>**Teen Division!**

After dinner, Dick, Wally, and Roy changed into their costumes and left the Bat Cave to meet up with Barbara to patrol around Gotham. It was only 8 pm, so they still had an hour before Wally had to meet up with 'Mr. Kane' to get his phone back.

"I just hope that guy didn't go through my photos," Kid Flash said. "Most of them are of us; in and out of costume."

"And you lost it," Speedy deadpanned.

"Did you put a password on your phone?" Robin asked.

"Er… No," Kid Flash replied sheepishly.

"Then, just pray that 'Mr. Kane' isn't a nosy guy," Batgirl sighed.

A loud alarm rang. It came from Gotham Bank ("Again," Speedy sighed). It was Killer Croc. The team dashed in to stop him. They caught him in the midst of stuffing cash into his sack.

"Well, if it isn't the League's kiddie team," Killer Croc said, smirking.

They all jumped Killer Croc, except Speedy who kept his distance and prepared arrows. Robin and Batgirl got his arms and prepared a thick wire to lock them together. Kid Flash dashed around him, confusing him. Speedy shot an arrow at Killer Croc's face when Robin and Batgirl succeeded tying his arms together with their wire and jumped off. The arrow hit him between his eyes and exploded, coating his eyes with green foam. Killer Croc stomped around wildly. Kid Flash tipped him over and tied both his legs up before he could hit the ground.

"Junior Justice League – 1; Killer Croc – 0!" Kid Flash said triumphantly.

They left before the police arrived through the emergency fire exit. They continued their patrol around Gotham. They reached Gotham Zoo where they encountered Penguin releasing an army of mind-controlled penguins.

"Penguins," Robin said. "It's _always_ penguins!"

"He _is _called 'Penguin' for a reason," Batgirl said.

"So, how do you take them down?" Speedy asked.

Kid Flash answered his question. He ran into the zoo and returned with a large net. He used it to gather up all the penguins.

"Well, _that_ works," Speedy said.

They quickly got down from the building to chase after Penguin, who had run back into the zoo when Kid Flash stopped his penguin army. While they chased him, Penguin had released animals to attack them. Kid Flash had to deal with a cheetah, Batgirl was fighting with a wolf, Robin has trying to outrun an ostrich, and Speedy was swarmed with butterflies.

"Don't hurt them!" Robin ordered as he tricked the ostrich back into its cage and locked it in.

"It's harder than you think for me to _not_," Speedy said, swatting the butterflies out of his face.

Kid Flash was just playing the cheetah. He kindly asked it to go back into its cage but it did not want to and stayed with Kid Flash.

"Can I keep him?" he asked.

"NO!" Batgirl replied as she wrestled the wolf of her and kicked it back into its cage and quickly locked it in.

Kid Flash turned back to the cheetah. "She said no. I'm sorry. Do you want to help us stop Penguin before we put you back?"

The cheetah nodded and got up. It took the lead. The team followed it.

"That big kitty's pretty smart," Robin said as he brushed ostrich feathers off his costume.

"Can we keep him?" Kid Flash asked again.

"NO!" the three of them replied at the same time.

Speedy had a butterfly perched on his shoulder. Kid Flash noticed.

"But why can Speedy keep a butterfly?" he asked. "This is unfair!"

"That's because this butterfly won't chew my shoulder off and nobody would care if _one_ little butterfly was missing," Speddy replied.

Kid Flash pouted. "Totally unfair."

They found Penguin with the crocodiles, which was rather strange since they expected him to be with _birds_. But it did not surprise them when they noticed that Penguin was _running away_ from the crocodile. Or to exact, he was _hanging _between the crocodile's _jaws._

"Help me!" he cried.

The team laughed at first. Then, they got to business. Speedy shot a length of wire over Penguin and the crocodile, and pulled it taut. Robin pulled out his staff and used it like a balancing pole as he walked on the wire over to Penguin. When he was above Penguin, he smacked the crocodile on the head, causing it to howl and release Penguin. Robin used his staff to pull Penguin up and toss him out of the pool. Playing with his staff, Robin casually walked back to the team.

After returning all the penguins, they dropped Penguin off at the police department and continued their patrol. By then, it was 8:55 pm. Kid Flash had to meet up with 'Mr. Kane' to get his phone back. They had planned to meet at the jewelry store.

Kid Flash took off his cowl and put on a trench coat. Robin, Batgirl, and Speedy hid in a deserted alleyway. Five minutes later, 'Mr. Kane' arrived… with two hyenas a gun and Wally's phone. It only took a second for the team to realise that 'Bob Kane' is Joker.

"Hello, Mr. West," Joker greeted in a somewhat polite voice. "Or should I say, _Kid Flash_?"

Realizing that there was no point hiding it, Wally threw off the trench coat and pulled his cowl back on. Robin, Batgirl, and Speedy came out from alleyway.

"Hand over my phone, Joker," Kid Flash demanded.

Joker made a sad face. "Do I _have _to?"

Then, his hyenas charged at them. But just as they got close, something butted them aside. It was the cheetah that Kid Flash had made friends with.

"Cheetah!" Kid Flash said happily. "You came back!"

"I thought you locked it in?" Speedy asked.

"Well… I didn't."

The cheetah dealt with the hyenas while the team fought Joker. Joker stuffed Wally's phone into his suit. Robin whacked him across the head while Speedy shot a punching glove arrow at his stomach. Batgirl shot a pellet that held bolas which tied up Joker's legs. Disoriented, Kid Flash took the chance to search Joker's suit. He took out playing cards, a long cloth rope, and a plastic flower. Robin kicked the flower out of Kid Flash's hand.

"It's filled with Joker Gas," he warned.

Suddenly, Joker sprung up and kicked Kid Flash off him, throwing him onto Speedy. He whistled for his hyenas and made a run for it. But before they could start chasing him, the cheetah had tackled Joker and stolen the phone from him. Speedy shot net arrows, foam arrows, and finally a sleeping gas arrow at Joker, defeating him at last.

The cheetah returned the phone to Kid Flash and licked his face playfully.

"_Can we keep him_?" Kid Flash asked for the third time, this time with puppy dog eyes.

"Dude, you can't!" Robin replied. "It'd scratch up all the furniture in the Manor!"

"KF," Speedy said sternly. "Return the cheetah to the zoo. We can visit it tomorrow. Okay?"

"Okay…" Kid Flash carried the cheetah back to the zoo while the others dragged Joker and his hyenas to Arkham Asylum.

* * *

><p>The next day, at the Wayne Manor, Wally was deleting every photo and message in his phone. He sighed when he deleted the last photo.<p>

"Guess that's it…" he said sadly. "No more photos."

"What do you mean 'no more photos'?"

Wally looked up and saw Dick, Barbara and Roy. Dick seemed to be holding something behind his back. Dick smiled and showed it to him. It was an album.

"We 'borrowed' your phone and had the pictures developed and printed out," Barbara said, "and put into this album."

The album was a white hard cover binder with stickers decorating them; a yellow lightning bolt, an 'S', an 'R', and a yellow bat. There were large words in bright colours written with Sharpies: 'JUNIOR JUSTICE LEAGUE PHOTOS!'

Wally opened it. Behind the front cover were passport-sized photos of them in costume with a different sticker above each photo: a red bird for Robin, a bat for Batgirl, a lightning bolt for Kid Flash and an arrow for Speedy. Below the photos, however, did not say their name but were instead insults.

Robin was the 'Boy Blunder', Batgirl was 'Batman's baby sister', Speedy was 'Mr. Arrow-up-my-butt' and Kid Flash was the 'Selfish Slob'.

"'Mr. Arrow-up-my-butt'?" Wally asked Roy, smirking.

He turned the page and saw pictures of the team; both individually and with each other. They all had captions beneath them. Some were cropped and arranged in special ways.

"I gotta admit, scrapbooking was pretty fun," Roy said.

There was a page that was midnight blue with silver star stickers decorating it with a golden moon sticker on one corner, with black building drawings out of black markers and white ink for the windows. There were cropped images of the team in positioned on the page with a long yellow rope drawn with a marker between their fingers as if they were swinging from the building, which was what they did three days ago while patrolling.

"We figured that you would delete all your pics so we made this album to keep all the good ones," Dick said before adding, "In a safe place around the manor, of course.

There was another page of them fooling around the manor: Dick pretending to be Superman while Wally was Martian Manhunter, Barbara reading a book with Dick behind her, Roy pretending to shoot a plunger with his bow, and the four of them sliding down the stairs' banister. That picture was taken by Alfred. There was another beside it of them all landing ungracefully.

Wally put the album down and turned around to hug Dick, Barbara and Roy at the same time.

"I love you guys _so_ much!" he said, crying.

"We're your friends," Barbara said. "We'd always do things to make you happy, Wally."

"Scratch _friends_," Dick said. "We're_ family_."

"Okay," Roy said awkwardly. "Enough love already. Please let go."

Wally finally let go of the three and wiped his face on his sleeve.

"Let's go to the zoo," Wally said. "I wanna go visit my cheetah."

**Chapter 16 *END***


	17. Return

**Junior Justice League**

**Teen Division!**

Barbara seated herself in front of the television with a bowl of cereal on her lap and her dad sitting beside her, spending quality time with his daughter for once. There was not much to watch on TV in the morning, just the usual early morning news.

_"Today,"_ the news reporter droned, _"will have a 60% chance of rain in the afternoon, so I suggest you carry an umbrella with you. It will be sunny all morning..."_

"_This_ close to falling back to sleep," Barbara joked, using her thumb and forefinger to measure 'this close'. Jim chuckled in response.

Barbara had finished her cereal and got up to leave when she heard Vicki Vale's report.

_"Haly's Circus is planning on performing in Gotham again, despite the last time they visited, which resulted in the deaths of John and Mary Grayson. Apparently, the crew wanted to pay Dick Grayson, one of their former performers, a visit."_

"Haly's Circus... is coming to Gotham?!" Barbara repeated with shock and disbelief. She had reseated herself on the sofa beside her father.

"Apparently so," Jim said. He heightened the volume.

_"With Tony Zucco in Arkham Asylum,"_ Vicki continued, _"surely the circus is safe. The circus is currently leaving Metropolis."_

Jim's eyes narrowed. "Zucco's not the only mafia boss in Gotham."

Barbara got off the sofa again. She dropped her cereal bowl into the sink and went into he toilet. Then, she came out and went into her room to change. After that, she came out, announcing, "I'm going to visit Dick."

* * *

><p>The slice of toast Dick had been eating hung between his teeth. He stared with wide eyes at the TV.<p>

Haly's Circus is coming to Gotham.

Wally and Roy also watched, speechless. Alfred stood behind them.

"Oh, dear," he breathed out.

Suddenly, Barbara came into the room. "Haly's Circus is coming to town, did you know that?" she asked.

She saw the TV. "Yeah, you do."

"Miss Gordon!" Alfred gasped, shocked. "How on Earth did you get in here?! I had not heard you knock the door or ring the bell!"

"I picked the lock," Barbara replied.

"I can't believe they're actually coming back," Dick said, still in shock.

"Well, they are," Wally said. "And it's for you."

"After what happened last year," Dick said softly, "I can't believe they'd dare to return."

"And they should be here in the afternoon," Barbara said. "They're just leaving Metropolis. It'll take eight hours to reach Gotham."

"Wanna go... visit them later?" Roy asked.

Dick took a bite from his toast

"Yeah."

* * *

><p>The teen sidekicks were training in the manor's gym while listening to Dick tell them stories about his childhood at Haly's Circus. Dick was swinging on the hoops as he told his story.<p>

"We were Gypsies," he said. "Romanian ones, in fact. We were always on the move."

Roy shot arrows while listening, not missing a single target. Wally was kicking the punching bag while watching and listening to Dick. Barbara was balancing herself on the balancing beam as she listened.

"In our cabin, dad kept a big map of the world on the wall," Dick went on. "We marked the places we were going to stop at with red and blue pins. Blue was for small cities, which meant small, less dangerous acts, and red would be for big cities, big, more dangerous acts. But we marked Gotham with a _black _pin."

At that moment, three listeners stopped their activities and paid extra attention to Dick. Dick swung upside-down, straining to keeping his body upright as he continued his story.

"The black pin meant no holding back, no safety nets, everyone's pushing themselves to the limit. I asked, 'Dad, what made Gotham so special?' And his answer was, 'Son, some places just have a hunger in them. Either you give it to them, or you_ beware_."

Then, he swung off the hoops and landed on the gym mat gracefully. He picked up four rubber balls and juggled them as the others watch with silence.

Barbara jumped off the balance beam and asked Dick, "Do you know any good acts there?"

Dick smiled reminiscently, and suddenly tossed the rubber balls at Barbara, who caught it without a beat and juggled them too.

"There was this one I liked a lot.," he said. "The high-dive. The performer's name was Francis Roy. It was amazing. I never got bored watching him jump off that eighty feet tall tower down into the three feet deep tank."

"Wouldn't that break his neck?" Roy asked.

Dick simply shrugged. "I asked him that, amd his reply was that it was all about judgement. That you judge everything from the board, not from the jump. Not that I really understood."

"Is he still around?" Wally asked.

Dick went over to Wally, joining him in hitting the punching bag. He continued, "No. On that day, I was there watching,as usual. Francis misjudged and dove an extra degree or two deeper. He broke his neck, and died instantly."

He ended his story with en extra hard punch that would sent Wally flying had the mini-speedster had not jumped out of the way quickly enough.

"Once in while, one of our performers mess up, and well... that's the end of their career," Dick said, sighing.

"Kind of similar to a cop's life," Barbara said as she passed the rubber balls to Roy, who failed to catch them and fell over embarrassingly. "If you're not quick enough, that's it. Right, Roy?"

Roy frowned as the other three teenagers smirked at him.

"Well, of course," Roy said as he slowly reached for one of the rubber balls. "You've gotta be quick or else... _HAH_!"

He threw the rubber ball at Barbara who didn't react fast enough and was hit in the head and fell over too. Now, she was being laughed at.

**Chapter 17 *END***


End file.
